On Marriage

Kahlil Gibran

And what of marriage?

To the question: 'And what of marriage?'

He says: 'You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.'

Hands of the Bride and Groom


[Bride], please face [Groom], and hold his hands, palms up,
so you see the gift that they are to you.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and
cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes:
tears of sorrow and tears of joy. These are the hands that will
comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief fill you.
These are the hands that will give you support and celebrate with you
in your accomplishments.

Best Man:  please hold [Bride's] hands, palms up, where you
may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands that will
hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times. They are the hands
that will comfort you when you are sick or console you when you are grieving.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you
through the years, for a lifetime of happiness. These are the hands that will
give you support as she encourages you to fulfill your dreams. Together,
as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.

(Optional)
 May these hands always be held by one another.
May they have the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and
the dark of disillusionment. May they remain tender and gentle as they nurture
each other in their wondrous love. May these hands continue building a
relationship founded in grace, rich in caring, and devoted in reaching for
perfection. May [Groom's name] and [Bride's name] see their four hands as
healer, protector, shelter and guide.



The Key To Love

The key to love is understanding...
The ability to comprehend not only the spoken word,
but those unspoken gestures,
the little things that say so much by themselves.

The key to love is forgiveness...
to accept each others faults and pardon mistakes,
without forgetting, but with remembering
what you learn from them.

The key to love is sharing...
Facing your good fortunes as well as the bad, together;
both conquering problems, forever searching for ways
to intensify your happiness.

The key to love is giving...
without thought of return,
but with the hope of just a simple smile,
and by giving in but never giving up.

The key to love is respect...
realising that you are two separate people, with different ideas; that you don't
belong to each other, that you belong with each other, and share a mutual bond.

The key to love is inside us all...
It takes time and patience to unlock all the ingredients that will take you to its threshold;
it is the continual learning process that demands a lot of work... but the rewards are more
than worth the effort...
and that is the key to love.

My Love, I give you, here and now, a promise from the depths of my soul.
I promise to love you, not for what you are, but what I am when I am with you; not for what you have
made of yourself, rather for what you have made of me; for bringing out the very best in me.

I promise to love you for seeing into my heart with serene tolerance and for understanding
the weaknesses that reside there; for seeing in me a radiance and beauty only you could have awakened.

You have made me a better person and to spend my life with you

is my supreme desire.


 

Love is

Love is the strongest feeling known; an all -encompassing passion;
an extreme strength; an overwhelming excitement

Love is the desire to share; the acceptance of all that is good or bad; a partnership of the
heart and mind; tolerance for weakness; gratitude for strength;
Love is seeing the very best, the very worst
and always feeling the bond that has been so deeply forged.


Love is understanding, listening, supporting; having fun.

Love is a reason to grow; to make yourself better, through each other; to share goals;
to share sorrow and exhuberance both, in a partnership of life.


Everyone in the world wants to love; Love is not a feeling to be taken;  
lightly; Love is a feeling to be cherished, nurtured and cared for;
Love is the reason for life

  

 

From This Day Forward

(author unknown)

From this day forward, let us laugh together, and plan together,

let us find our favorite places, and go together...

Let us enjoy the sunshine, and the rain,

being alone together, and in crowds together...

From this day forward, together,

Let us love!

 


Let Us Walk Together


Let us walk together yet not as one, but such that our shadows are separate

and distinct, such that our souls are unbound and free.

Let us share our time, yet do not give all your time, nor take all of mine

for in order to develop to the fullest, to be free, we must have

solitude and individuality. Let me wander in solitude,

when I need to be alone, yet be near, when I need you. Let us share our love.

Give freely of your love, but do not smother me, my soul must breathe a

free air. Take my love, but do not demand it, for love given of

obligation, is stale and without life.

 

Let us share our lives



Share my life, but do not try to shape it.

Let me share your life, but do not let it revolve around me.

Let us share ourselves. Accept me as I am, do not attempt to

change me to fit your dreams. Respect me for what I am,

not for what I was or one day may be. Share yourself with me, but do not allow

me to limit your freedom or bind your soul. Let us share our minds,

thoughts, goals, values and dreams. Let us develop these within

ourselves without restriction or loss of freedom. Thus our two free souls,

may wander together as they develop in freedom.

As we share our lives, as we walk through life together,

know my love is yours, but not my soul for it must be free.

 

 

 


Marriage is a Promise of Love



Marriage is a commitment to life ... to the best that the two people can find and

bring out of each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth no other

human relationship can equal, a physical and emotional joining that promised for

a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most

important relationships. A wife and a husband are each others best friend,

confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. There may come times when one partner is

heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tend caring of a

parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.

Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitments are stronger, even is felt

more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and

forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures

new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of

life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage,

they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer than any

spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts

of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill.
 

From 'Letters to a Young Poet'


Rainer Maria RilkeFor one human being to love another human being:

that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us,

the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work

 is merely preparation. Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering,

and uniting with another person - it is a high inducement for the

individual to ripen, to become something in himself, to become world,

 to become world in himself for the sake of another person;

it is a great, demanding claim on him, something that chose him

and calls him to vast distances.

 
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