March 8, 2019 – International Women’s Day

I was reminded of a powerhouse quote recently, from my longtime teacher, Louise Hay: You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.

Welcome to women’s world. It would be the few extremely enlightened of us who would not qualify for the above advice.

I know intellectually that I must embrace myself with love and compassion, and have practiced this on occasion. It’s not my ‘go to’ though.  Not yet.  I must give it more time and importance and practice to receive the beautiful, transformational gift of acceptance.

If not now, when? Wouldn’t International Women’s Day be a good place to start?

I stand before a mirror. Deep breath. Exhale slowly looking at the reflection and say, “I love you.”

Mirror work is powerful. I look directly into my eyes and speak out loud.

Can you remember as a child, someone looking directly into your eyes and criticizing you, shaking a finger perhaps? It worked perfectly.  This work is the antidote.

Louise Hay: There is so much love in your heart that you could heal the entire planet. But just for now let us use this love to heal you. Feel a warmth beginning to glow in your heart centre, a softness, a gentleness. Let this feeling begin to change the way you think and talk about yourself.

I feel that, as a woman in 2019 we must show for up for the planet to be the best we can be, but to do that we have to believe in our Self. No wimpyness allowed here. Mother Earth is calling her daughters to come together and take a stand.

The women recently in headline news, in Canada, have inspired me. Former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, and former Treasury Board president Jane Philpott – who had the courage and integrity to give up their high profile positions when they disagreed with their government’s direction and lack of integrity.

Our PM got more than he bargained for when he took that fateful step four years ago and made his cabinet fifty percent female. It has become patently obvious that women think differently about so called ‘party loyalty’. For these women, circumstances did not alter cases. The ‘old boys’ network stops here!

No matter one’s politics, we have to admire courage in the face of adversity, and walking out of a high profile career is fairly adverse.

HH the Dalai Lama rocked the world about a decade ago when he stated that Western women would save the world. But if not, why not? We are the world’s most privileged and have the freedom to do just that. However, we must believe in our self before we can embark on such a journey. It begins with the mirror.

Another longtime teacher of mine, Marianne Williamson, has clothed herself in armour (spiritual armour) and has entered the US presidential race for 2020, for the Democrats. Her message has always been that in a democracy no one has the right to ignore ‘politics’ and she is walking her talk.  We are all crew here on this planet, and spaceship Earth needs every one of us pulling our weight, especially today's women.

So on this special day devoted to celebrating the women of the world, let us give a nod to the women in our lives, not forgetting (should you be female) the one reading this. I toast my daughters and daughters-in-law, who continue to inspire me with their courage and integrity and grace under fire.  And my women friends who lead and comfort and say ‘yes’ when they are asked for help. You are, all of you, wonderful, beautiful manifestations of love.


Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
                                                                                    Marianne Williamson – A Return to Love