Giving Thanks

Have you read Emily Rose's blog?  No? (smack, hit, punch upside the head).  Why????  It's amazing.  In all seriousness, though...


She blogged about a wedding she attended this weekend where the couple used the same reading she and her husband did when they got married, almost two years ago.  I remember her amazing wedding, which reminded me of ours - again, to use her sentiments - not in a selfish way.  But because witnessing and experiencing the love of others makes you value you and cherish your own more.


And so, I was then reminded of our own wedding vows and promises. Ours was an Apache Marriage Blessing, and some wise words from the man who knows it all - Dr. Seuss...

APACHE MARRIAGE BLESSING

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for each other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be the warmth for the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before. Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your life together. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.  When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship – as they threaten all relationships at one time or another - remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight. 

And - in the words of everybody's favorite childhood author...

Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You’re off to Great Places!  You’re off and away!  And will you succeed?  Yes!  You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)  Kid, you’ll move mountains!  So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So…get on your way!

I remember my father reading this to me, and then, a mere 25 years later, our dearest friend incorporating it into our marriage ceremony.  Life is circular in so many ways.  Celebrate love, wise words and marriage.