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Sacred Text/ Prayers
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: 1st Corinthians 13, shortened form
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: 1st Corinthians 13, shortened form
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture:1st Corinthians 13 Expanded version
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: 1st Corinthians 13 Expanded version:
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal and if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
From Christian Scripture: The Gospel of John 15:9-12
From Christian Scripture: The Gospel of John 15:9-12
The greatest gift of God we give and receive in marriage is love. Jesus spoke about love and about the obedience to God that preserves love, with these words :
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. {10} If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. {11} I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. {12} "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
From Christian Scripture: First Colossians 3, selected verses
From Christian Scripture: First Colossians 3, selected verses
American Standard Bible (Catholic version)
Brothers and sisters: put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another ,if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, you must also do. And over all these put on love, that is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one Body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in the word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Psalm 1
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Psalm 1
Adapted by Stephen Mitchell
Blessed are the man and the woman who have grown beyond themselves and have seen through their separations. They delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Their leaves will not fall or whither. Everything they do will succeed.
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Song Of Solomon 2:10-13
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Song Of Solomon 2:10-13
My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Song of Solomon 8:6-7a
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Song of Solomon 8:6-7a
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Ruth 1:16-17
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Ruth 1:16-17
But Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God; where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if even death parts me from you."
From Buddhist Sacred Text: Buddha's Teaching: Unlimited Friendliness
From Buddhist Sacred Text: Buddha's Teaching: Unlimited Friendliness
This is what should be done by the man and woman who are wise, who seek the good, and who know the meaning of the place of peace. Let them be fervent, upright, and sincere, without conceit of self, easily contented and joyous, free of cares; let them not be submerged by the things of the world; let them not take upon themselves the burden of worldly goods, let them be wise but not puffed up, and let them not desire great possessions even for their families.
May all beings be happy and at their ease. All beings, whether weak or strong - omitting none - in high, middle, or low realms of existence, small or great, visible or invisible, near or far way, born or to be born. Even as a mother watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless mind should one cherish all living beings, radiating friendliness over the entire world, above, below, and all around without limit. So let them cultivate a boundless good will toward the entire world, unlimited, free from ill-will or enmity. Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, during all their waking hours, let them establish this mindfulness of good will, which is the highest state. Those who are perfect will never again know rebirth.
A Jewish Blessing/ Prayer for the Couple
A Jewish Blessing/ Prayer for the Couple
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord! We bless you out of the house of the Lord. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with singing. O God supremely blessed, supreme in might and glory, guide and bless this bride and groom. Unto Thee, O God and Father, we lift our souls ion praise. All creation declares Thy glory; through human beings, fashioned in Thine image, Thou hast revealed Thy majesty. Within his heart Thou hast implanted the ennobling influences of love and devotion. Thou Who art the Source of life and of joy, bless the covenant which this bridegroom and bride now seal in Thy name. Be with them in this sacred hour and in all the days to come.
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-24
From Hebrew Scripture/ The Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-24
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
Based on the “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu
Based on the “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu
“Explore and discover that which is within.
When we find ourselves, we are more easily found by others.
Without words, without even understanding,
lovers find each other.
The moment of finding is always a surprise,
like meeting an old friend never before known.
Life and marriage are a wondrous journey,
ever unfolding an opportunity
to rediscover ourselves and our beloved
again and again for even on a shared journey
the only thing constant is change.
Embrace it and let it lead you
to many a glorious tomorrow.”
Based on the Hindu 7 steps
Based on the Hindu 7 steps
“Marriage has in it the power to form a circle of family
that includes all who are touched by the warmth
of the love shared by a loving husband and wife,
creating a common ground of uncommon richness.
May your marriage bring your souls an abundance
of spiritual and physical nourishment.
May you be strong enough to balance one another,
caring and giving enough to complement one another.
May you be prosperous in all ways, ever appreciative,
and grateful for all the gifts your marriage has brought.
May you see your children grow and thrive.
And may you live your lives together in perfect harmony,
As partners, lovers, parents, teachers and best friends.”
I Ching
I Ching
“When two people are at one
in their inmost hearts,
they shatter even the strength of iron or bronze.
And when two people understand each other
in their inmost hearts,
their words are sweet and strong,
like the fragrance of orchids.”
From The Christian Tradition: A Litany on 1st Corinthians 13
From The Christian Tradition: A Litany on 1st Corinthians 13
This is a beautiful and unique version of 1st Corinthians that is perfect for 2 readers.
“GOD IS LOVE.
May you have His kind of love for each other.
LOVE IS PATIENT AND KIND.
May you be able to lovingly overlook each other’s
faults and weaknesses.
LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS OR BOASTFUL.
May you seek praise for each other and not for yourselves.
LOVE IS NOT ARROGANT OR RUDE.
May you give of yourselves for each other’s needs
and treat one another with utmost respect.
LOVE DOES NOT INSIST ON ITS OWN WAY.
May you genuinely listen to each other
with a willingness to be wrong yourselves.
LOVE IS NOT IRRITABLE OR RESENTFUL.
May you be tolerant of each other’s moods,
always ready to forgive, never holding a grudge.
LOVE DOES NOT REJOICE AT WRONG
BUT REJOICES IN THE RIGHT.
May you experience happiness
because of each other’s triumphs and successes.
LOVE BEARS ALL THINGS.
May you seek to understand each other’s differences,
knowing you will stick together through it all.
LOVE HOPES ALL THINGS.
May you always expect the best in each situation,
regardless of temporary setbacks.
LOVE ENDURES ALL THINGS.
May you never give up your commitment
to work on improving your relationship.
LOVE NEVER ENDS.
May you spend the rest of your lives
together enjoying God’s love.
GOD IS LOVE.”
The Buddhist Scriptures: Te Buddha’s Sermon At Rajagaha; Verses 19-22
The Buddhist Scriptures;
The Buddha’s Sermon At Rajagaha; Verses 19-22
Do not deceive, do not despise each other anywhere. Do not be angry nor bear secret resentments; for as a mother will risk her life and watches over her child, so boundless be your love to all, so tender, kind and mild.
Cherish good will right and left, early and late, and without hindrance, without stint, be free of hate and envy, while standing and walking and sitting down, what ever you have in mind, the rule of life that is always best is to be loving-kind.
The Hindu Scriptures: The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad; Selected Verses
The Hindu Scriptures;
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad; Selected Verses
“A wife loves her husband not for his own sake, dear one, but because the Divine Beloved lives in him. A Husband loves his wife not for her own sake, dear one, but because the Divine Beloved lives in her. Children are loved not for their own sake, dear one, but because the Divine Beloved lives in them… All things are loved not for their own sake, but because the Divine Beloved lives in them. The Divine Beloved must be realized. Hearing about and meditating upon the Divine Beloved, you will come to understand everything in life…
As long as there is the sense of separateness, one sees another as separate from oneself… But when the Divine Beloved is realized as the indivisible unity of life, who can be seen by whom…who can be spoken to by whom, who can be thought of by whom, who can be known by
whom?”
“Prayer of Love” from an Unknown Author
“Prayer of Love” from an Unknown Author
“Our prayer for you is this:
That you will always remember the qualities
that attracted you to each other when you first met
and how you felt as your feelings of attraction
turned into respect, admiration and finally love.
That you will work hard to turn your feelings of love
into acts of love so that nothing and no one can divide you.
That you will always have kind and loving hearts
that are quick to ask for forgiveness when you are wrong
as well as to forgive when your partner is wrong.
That your love might grow to hear all things,
believe all things, and hope for all things, endure all things.
we pray you place your marriage in God’s hands,
and that your love increases and overflows,
beyond anything you can yet imagine.”
From “Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith” by Frederick Buechner
From “Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith”
by Frederick Buechner
They say they will love, comfort, honor each other to the end of their days. They say they will cherish each other and be faithful to each other always. They say they will do these things not just when they feel like it, but even — for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health — when they don’t feel like it at all. In other words, the vows they make could hardly be more extravagant. They give away their freedom. They take on themselves each other’s burdens. They bind their lives together… The question is, what do they get in return?
They get each other in return… There will always be the other to talk to, to listen to… There is still someone to get through the night with, to wake into the new day beside. If they have children, they can give them, as well as each other, roots and wings. If they don’t have children, they each become the other’s child.
They both still have their lives apart as well as a life together. They both still have their separate ways to find. But a marriage made in heaven is one where a man and a woman become more richly themselves together than the chances are either of them could ever have managed to become alone.
“Traditional Druidic/ Pagan Blessing” by Ed Fitch
“Traditional Druidic/ Pagan Blessing” by Ed Fitch
“Above you are the stars, below you are the stones.
As time passes, remember…
Like a star should your love be constant,
Like the earth should your love be firm.
Possess one another, yet be understanding.
Have patience with each other,
For storms will come, and they will go quickly.
Be free in giving of affection and of warmth.
Have no fear, and let not the ways or words of the
Unenlightened give you unease.
For the Old Gods are with you,
Now and always!”
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-2, 21-33
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-2, 21-33
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God…Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
Blessing for Marriage by Carol Merolla
Blessing for Marriage by Carol Merolla
My marriage prayer for you is this: That you will always remember the qualities that attracted you to each other when you first met and how you felt as your feelings of attraction turned into respect, admiration and finally love. That you will work hard to turn your feelings of love into acts of love so that nothing and no one can divide you. That you will always have kind and loving hearts that are quick to ask for forgiveness when you are wrong as well as to forgive when your partner is wrong. That your love might grow to hear all things, believe all things, and hope for all things, endure all things. I pray you place your marriage in God's hands, and that your love increases and overflows, beyond anything you can yet imagine.
Wedding Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson
Wedding Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson
Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow,
for the health, the work, the food,
and the bright skies that make our lives delightful;
for our friends in all parts of the earth.
Amen.
Blessing for Love, Joy, Understanding, Friendship, Courage... Unknown Author
Blessing for Love, Joy, Understanding, Friendship, Courage... Unknown Author
In joining your lives may God grant you both...
Love... to afford each other a special quality of time together.
Joy...in the accomplishments of one another.
Understanding...that your interests and desires
will not always be the same.
Friendship...based on mutual trust.
Courage...to speak of a misunderstanding
and to work on a solution
before the setting of the sun.
Compassion...to comfort each other in pain and sorrow.
Foresight...to realize rainbows follow rainy days.
Imagination...to keep with you part of the child you used to be.
Mirth...from your sense of humor.
Awareness...to live each day with the knowledge
that there is no promise of tomorrow.
May God bless you and keep you
in the Palm of His hand.
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
A Prayer To Be Used As A Reading, Unknown Author
Bless this marriage, O God, as and begin their journey down the road of life together. We don’t know what lies ahead for the road turns and bends. But help them to make the best of whatever comes their way. Help them to hug each other often…laugh a lot, talk more, and argue less. Help them to continue to enjoy each other as they did when they first met. Help them to realize that nothing nor no one is perfect and to look for the good in all things and all people including themselves. Help them to respect each other’s likes and dislikes, opinion and beliefs, hopes and dreams and fears even though they may not always understand them. Help them to learn from each other and to help each other to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Help them to realize that there is design and purpose in their lives as in the world and no matter what happens to them they will hold on to each other and know that things have a way of working out for the good. Help them to create for their children a peaceful, stable home of love as a foundation on which they can build their lives. But most of all, dear God, help them to keep lit the torch of love’ that they now share in their hearts so that by their loving example they may pass on the light of love to their children and to their children’s children forever.
Amen
From Christian/ Catholic Scripture: Romans 12:9-16
Romans 12:9-16
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.
Contemporary Literature
The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach
The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach
"A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person, we're safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life."
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
“When he looked into her eyes, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke — the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. Because when you know the language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.”
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
“'Still,' Morrie said, 'there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don’t have a common set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike.
'And the biggest one of those values, Mitch?' Yes? 'Your belief in the importance of your marriage.' He sniffed, then closed his eyes for a moment. 'Personally,' he sighed, his eyes still closed, 'I think marriage is a very important thing to do, and you’re missing a lot if you don’t try it.' He ended the subject by quoting a poem he believed in like a prayer: 'Love each other or perish.'”
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches...I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids...I love you. Okay? Want it louder? I love you. Spell it out, should I? I ell-oh-vee-ee why-oh-you. Want it backward? You love I."
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
"I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough."
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being 'in love' which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two. Love is important and you should love each other the most."
A History of Love by Nicole Krauss
A History of Love by Nicole Krauss
"Once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a house that no longer exists, on the edge of a field that no longer exists, where everything was discovered, and everything was possible. A stick could be a sword, a pebble could be a diamond, a tree, a castle. Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a house across the field, from a girl who no longer exists. They made up a thousand games. She was queen and he was king. In the autumn light her hair shone like a crown. They collected the world in small handfuls, and when the sky grew dark, and they parted with leaves in their hair. Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Jazz by Toni Morrison
It’s nice when grown people whisper to each other under the covers. Their ecstasy is more leaf-sigh than bray and the body is the vehicle, not the point. They reach grown people, for something beyond, way beyond and way, way down underneath tissue. They are remembering while they whisper the carnival dolls they won and the Baltimore boats they never sailed on. The pears they let hang on the limb because if they plucked them, they would be gone from there and who else would see that ripeness if they took it away for themselves? How could anybody passing by see them and imagine for themselves what the flavor would be like? Breathing and murmuring under covers both of them have washed and hung out on the line, in a bed they chose together and kept together never mind one leg was propped on a 1916 dictionary, and the mattress, curved like a preacher’s palm asking for witnesses in His name’s sake, enclosed them each and every night and muffled their whispering, old-time love. They are under the covers because they don’t have to look at themselves anymore; there is no stud’s eye, no chippie glance to undo them. They are inward toward the other, bound and joined by carnival dolls and the steamers that sailed from ports they never saw. That is what is beneath their undercover whispers.
The Promise by Heather Berry
The Promise by Heather Berry
"Within this blessed union of souls, where two hearts intertwine to become one, there lies a promise. Perfectly born, divinely created, and intimately shared, it is a place where the hope and majesty of beginnings reside. Where all things are made possible by the astounding love shared by two spirits. As you hold each other’s hands in this promise, and eagerly look into the future in each other’s eyes, may your unconditional love and devotion take you to places where you’ve both only dreamed. Where you’ll dwell for a lifetime of happiness, sheltered in the warmth of each other’s arms."
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
“I love you also means I love you more than anyone loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that no one loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that I love no one else, and never have loved anyone else, and never will love anyone else.”
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.
Treat Yourself by An Unknown Author
Treat Yourself by An Unknown Author
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, difficult 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.
An Excerpt from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
An Excerpt from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.
A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.
A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master...”
Love by Diane Ackerman
Love by Diane Ackerman
Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful. It has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fuelled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love’s spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots spreading into deep and mysterious days. The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving, and being loved.
To Love is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh
To Love is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh
To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.
From "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle
From "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle
But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.
To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take. If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.
From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems of Mary Oliver
From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems of Mary Oliver
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)”
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
1. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. “You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. “We can’t choose our fate, but we can choose others. Be careful in knowing that.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5. “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love." — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
8. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears."After all this time?""Always," said Snape.—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
9. "The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them, in here."— Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. "What a beautiful place to be with friends." — Dobby, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
11"It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love" -Professor Slughorn, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
12. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Resignation by Nikki Giovanni
Resignation by Nikki Giovanni
I love you
because the Earth turns around the sun
because the North wind blows north
sometimes
because the Pope is Catholic
and most Rabbis Jewish
because winters flow into springs
and the air clears after a storm
because only my love for you
despite the charms or gravity
keeps me from falling off this Earth
into another dimension
I love you
because it is the natural order of things
I love you
like the habit I picked up in college
of sleeping through lectures
or saying I’m sorry
when I get stopped for speeding
because I drink a glass of water
in the morning
and chain-smoke cigarettes
all through the day
because I take my coffee Black
and my milk with chocolate
because you keep my feet warm
though my life a mess
I love you
because I don’t want it
any other way
I am helpless
in my love for you
It makes me so happy
to hear you call my name
I am amazed you can resist
locking me in an echo chamber
where your voice reverberates
through the four walls
sending me into spasmatic ecstasy
I love you
because it’s been so good
for so long
that if I didn’t love you
I’d have to be born again
and that is not a theological statement
I am pitiful in my love for you<>
The Dells tell me Love
is so simple
the thought though of you
sends indescribably delicious multitudinous
thrills throughout and through-in my body
I love you
because no two snow flakes are alike
and it is possible
if you stand tippy-toe
to walk between the raindrops
I love you
because I am afraid of the dark
and can’t sleep in the light
because I rub my eyes
when I wake up in the morning
and find you there
because you with all your magic powers were
determined that
I should love you
because there was nothing for you but that
I would love you
I love you
because you made me
want to love you
more than I love my privacy
my freedom my commitments
and responsibilities
I love you ‘cause I changed my life
to love you
because you saw me one Friday
afternoon and decided that I would
love you
I love you I love you I love you
Children's Literature
I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
A children's book that tells this beautiful story of falling in love.
"I like you and I know why
I like you because you are a good person to like
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know it’s special
And you remember it a long, long time
You say, Remember when you told me something special
And both of us remember
When I think something is important you think it’s important too
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too
Hah-hah!
I like you because you know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there except just a little tiny bit sometimes
But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too
You know how to be silly — that’s why I like you
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
then you are getting ready to jump
HOORAY!
I like you because when I am feeling sad
You don’t always cheer me up right away
Sometimes it is better to be sad
You can’t stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute
You want to think about things
It takes time
I like you because if I am mad at you
Then you are mad at me too
It’s awful when the other person isn’t
They are so nice and oooh you could just about punch them on the nose
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you
It must have been lonesome then
Even if it was the 999th of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again
And that’s how it would happen every time."
A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton
A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton
A sweet story about two dinosaurs who fall in love.
The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold, he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage.
Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur. The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.
'I like this Dinosaur,' thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. 'Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.'
'I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur,' thought the Dinosaur. 'She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit, which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.'
'But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times,' thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. 'He is also overly fond of things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?'
'But her mind skips from here to there so quickly,' thought the Dinosaur. 'She is also uncommonly keen on shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?'
'I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things,' thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur, 'for they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.'
'I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping,' thought the Dinosaur, 'for she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either.'
Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old. Look at them. Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.
And that, my friends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together. For the sun is warm. And the world is a beautiful place."
The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly One by Neil Gaiman
The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly One by Neil Gaiman
"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life … You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. "
From Winnie the Pooh by A.A Milne
Winnie the Pooh by A.A Milne
“'If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.' Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 'Pooh?' he whispered. 'Yes, Piglet?' 'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. 'I just wanted to be sure of you.' 'We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.
'Even longer,' Pooh answered. 'If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.'"
The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
"I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again…I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you…We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams…And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me."
Getting Married Means You'll Have by Nicholas Gordon
Getting Married Means You'll Have by Nicholas Gordon
This is perfect for a child to read at a wedding ceremony.
Getting married means you'll have
Someone's hand to hold,
Even when you're feeling sick,
Even when you're old.
It means when you sit down to eat,
Someone will be there,
So you won't have to tell your day
To an empty chair.
It means that when you need some help,
Someone will help out,
Someone always near to you
So you won't have to shout.
But best of all is when it's time
To turn out all the lights:
You won't have to be alone
Those long and scary nights.
So even though you don't have toys,
You don't have to care:
Once you're married you can be
Each other's teddy bear.
Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
A lovely children’s book that translates perfectly into wedding reading magic.
I like you a lot
You're funny and kind
So let me explain
What I have in mind.
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
I want to walk right by your side
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
I want to travel with you far and wide.
Wherever you go, I'll go there too
Here and there and ev'rywhere
And always with you.
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
From now on.
Now lots of other penguins seem to do fine
In a universe of nothing but ice
But if I could be yours and you could be mine
A cosy little world would be twice as nice.
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
I want to talk with you night and day
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
I want to listen to whatever you say.
Look at these wings, so perfect to hold you
I'd like to say again
What I have already told you
Let me be Your Personal Penguin
From now on.
Now lots of other penguins seem to do fine
In a universe of nothing but ice
But if I could be yours and you could be mine
A cosy little world would be twice as nice.
I want to be (want to be) Your Personal Penguin
I want to walk right by your side
I want to be (want to be) Your Personal Penguin
I want to travel with you far and wide.
Wherever you go, I'll go there too
Here and there and ev'rywhere
And always with you.
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
Imagine me, Your Personal Penguin
I want to be Your Personal Penguin
From now on.
A quote from Shel Silverstein on Marriage
"There are no happy endings. Endings are sad, so let's have a happy beginning and a happy middle."
Found in "A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein
"Every Day" by David Levithan
"Every Day" by David Levithan
"This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it's just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be."
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Dr. Seuss (Abridged Version)
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Dr. Seuss (Abridged Version)
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re TOGETHER. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the COUPLE who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.…
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KIDS, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
1. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. “You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. “We can’t choose our fate, but we can choose others. Be careful in knowing that.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5. “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love." — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
8. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears."After all this time?""Always," said Snape.—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
9. "The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them, in here."— Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. "What a beautiful place to be with friends." — Dobby, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
11"It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love" -Professor Slughorn, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
12. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
“'What is REAL?' asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. 'Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?'
'Real isn’t how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'
'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.
'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.'
'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'
'It doesn’t happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.'
'I suppose you are real?' said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled.
'Someone made me Real,' he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.'
Classic Literature
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
"The future belongs to hearts even more than it does to minds. Love, that is the only thing that can occupy and fill eternity. In the infinite, the inexhaustible is requisite.
Love participates of the soul itself. It is of the same nature. Like it, it is the divine spark; like it, it is incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable. It is a point of fire that exists within us, which is immortal and infinite, which nothing can confine, and which nothing can extinguish. We feel it burning even to the very marrow of our bones, and we see it beaming in the very depths of heaven."
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
"I have for the first time found what I can truly love — I have found you. You are my sympathy — my better self — my good angel — I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you — and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one. It was because I felt and knew this, that I resolved to marry you."
Adam Bede by George Eliot
Adam Bede by George Eliot
“What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life — to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?”
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
"That night, there was a feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others...But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together."
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
“For 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 chooses him and calls him to vast distance… Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distance exists, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of seeing each other as a whole before an immense sky.”
Mark Twain's Letters, arranged with comment by Albert Bigelow Paine
Mark Twain's Letters, arranged with comment by Albert Bigelow Paine
“This will be the mightiest day in the history of our lives, the holiest, & the most generous toward us both — for it makes of two fractional lives a whole; it gives to two purposeless lives a work, & doubles the strength of each whereby to perform it; it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, & something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, a new mystery to life; & it will give a new revelation to love, a new depth to sorrow, a new impulse to worship. In that day, the scales will fall from our eyes & we shall look upon a new world."
Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
"But it was a happy and beautiful bride who came down the old, homespun-carpeted stairs that September noon — the first bride of Green Gables, slender and shining-eyed, in the mist of her maiden veil, with her arms full of roses. Gilbert, waiting for her in the hall below, looked up at her with adoring eyes. She was his at last, this evasive, long-sought Anne, won after years of patient waiting. It was to him she was coming in the sweet surrender of the bride. Was he worthy of her? Could he make her as happy as he hoped? If he failed her — if he could not measure up to her standard of manhood — then, as she held out her hand, their eyes met and all doubt was swept away in a glad certainty. They belonged to each other; and, no matter what life might hold for them, it could never alter that. Their happiness was in each other's keeping and both were unafraid."
“Desiderata” by Max Erhmann
“Desiderata” by Max Erhmann
“As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexation to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep invested in your own career, however humble. It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is: many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with yourself. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.”
“A Marriage….” by Mark Twain
“A Marriage….” by Mark Twain
“Makes of two fractional lives a whole;
It gives to two purposeless lives a work
And doubles the strength of each to perform it
It gives to two questioning natures a reason for living,
And something to live for;
It will give a new gladness to the sunshine,
A new fragrance to the flowers,
A new beauty to the earth,
And a new mystery to life”
Thoughts on Marriage from the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson
Thoughts on Marriage from the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson
Marriage is one long conversation, chequered by disputes. The disputes are valueless; they but ingrain the difference; the heroic heart of woman prompting her at once to nail her colours to the mast. But the intervals, almost unconsciously, and with no desire to shine, the whole material of life is turned over and over, ideas are struck out and shared, the two persons more and more adapt their notions one to suit the other, and in process of time, without sound of trumpet, they conduct each other into new worlds of thought.
"To Be With Each Other" by George Eliot
"To Be With Each Other" by George Eliot
What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness.
“On Love” by Thomas A. Kempis
“On Love” by Thomas A. Kempis
“Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good. Love alone lightens every burden, and makes rough places smooth. It bears every hardship as though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and acceptable.
Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth; for love is born of God.
Love flies, runs and leaps for joy. It is free and unrestrained. Love knows no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds. Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil, attempts things beyond its strength.
Love sees nothing as impossible, for it feels able to achieve all things. It is strange and effective, while those who lack love faint and fail. Love is not fickle and sentimental, nor is it intent on vanities.
Like a living flame and a burning torch, it surges upward and surely surmounts every obstacle.”
A Summer's Day by William Shakespeare
A Summer's Day by William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd,
And every fair from fair sometime decllines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ou'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old grief's, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as man can breath, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
“Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds.
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is not shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom,
If this be error, and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”
Origins of Love from Plato's Symposium
Origins of Love from Plato's Symposium
Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.
To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two faces looking in opposite directions. There were three sexes then: one comprised of two men called the children of the Sun, one made of two women called the children of the Earth, and a third made of a man and a woman, called the children of the Moon. Due to the power and might of these original humans, the Gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They sought for a way to end the humans’ insolence without destroying them.
It was at this point that Zeus divided the humans in half. After the division the two parts of each desiring their other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one. So ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of humankind.
Each of us when separated, having one side only, is always looking for our other half. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two; this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.
To My Dear and Loving Husband By Anne Bradstreet
To My Dear and Loving Husband By Anne Bradstreet
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
"I loved you first: but afterwards your love" by Christina Rossetti
"I loved you first: but afterwards your love" by Christina Rossetti
I loved you first: but afterwards your love
Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song
As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove.
Which owes the other most? my love was long,
And yours one moment seemed to wax more strong;
I loved and guessed at you, you construed me
And loved me for what might or might not be –
Nay, weights and measures do us both a wrong.
For verily love knows not ‘mine’ or ‘thine;’
With separate ‘I’ and ‘thou’ free love has done,
For one is both and both are one in love:
Rich love knows nought of ‘thine that is not mine;’
Both have the strength and both the length thereof,
Both of us, of the love which makes us one.
Love Poems
Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda
Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda
“I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close it is your eyes that close as I fall asleep.”
“LOVE ME” from an Unknown Author
“LOVE ME” from an Unknown Author
Love me because I try to touch life
within the framework of uncertainty.
Love in me the shadows of my indecision
as I strive to gain knowledge.
Love in me the silence of my hurts
and the noise of my confusions.
Love me for the feeling of my heart
not the fears of my mind.
Love me in my search for the truth
though I may stumble upon fallacy.
Love me as I pursue my dreams
sometimes retarded by illusions.
Love me as I grow to know myself
even during the times of stagnation.
Love me because I seek God’s harmony
not man’s discord.
Love me for my body that I wish to share
with affection, wrapping you in warmth.
Love me because we are different
as we are the same.
Love me that our time together will be spent
in growing, kindling the world with understanding.
Love me not with expectations
but with hope.
I will love you the same.
“The Key to Love” from an Unknown Author, 1st century China
“The Key to Love” from an Unknown Author, 1st century China
“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 …
with out 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 …
realizing 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.”
“If Thou Must Love Me” by Elizabeth Barrett Browing
“If Thou Must Love Me” by Elizabeth Barrett Browing
“If thou must love me, let it be for naught
Except for love’s sake only. Do not say,
‘I love her for her smile – her look – her way
Of speaking gently, for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day’ –
For these things in themselves, beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee – and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheeks dry:
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love’s sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love’s eternity.”
“I Ask The Impossible” by Anna Castillo
“I Ask The Impossible” by Anna Castillo
I ask the impossible: love me forever.
Love me when all desire is gone.
Love me with the single-mindedness of a monk.
When the world and all its entirety,
and all that you hold sacred, advise you
against it: love me still more.
When rage fills you and has no name: love me.
When each step from your door to your job ties you-
love me; and from job to home again.
Love me when you are bored –
when everyone you see is more beautiful than the last,
or more pathetic, love me as you always have:
not as admirer or judge, but with
the compassion you save for yourself
in your solitude.
Love me as you relish your loneliness,
the anticipation of your death,
mysteries of the flesh, as it tears and mends.
Love me as your most treasured childhood memory-
and if there is none to recall –
imagine one, place me there with you.
Love me withered as you loved me new.
Love me as if I were forever –
and I will make the impossible
a simple act,
by loving you, loving you as I do.
“Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds.
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is not shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom,
If this be error, and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”
“Love Is” by Laura Philips
“Love Is” by Laura Philips
Love is
Knowing my imperfection yet having the grace to accept them
Love is
The undying belief that I will be better
Love is
The kind heart that treats me as though I were already better
Love summarily is
The perfection I feel when you are with an imperfect me
“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as man can breath, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
“Love” by Roy Croft
“Love” by Roy Croft
“I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.
I love you,
Not only for what you have made of yourself,
But for what you are making of me.
I love you for
the part of me that you bring out;
I love you for
putting your hand into my heaped-up heart
And passing over all the foolish, weak things
that you can’t help dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out into the light
All the beautiful belongings
that no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.
I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern, but a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.
I love you because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
being a friend means, after all.”
“Fidelity” by D.H. Lawrence
“Fidelity” by D.H. Lawrence
Man and woman are like the earth,
that brings forth flowers
in summer, and love, but underneath is rock.
Older than flowers, older than ferns,
older than foraminiferae,
older than plasm altogether is the soul underneath.
And when, throughout all the wild chaos of love
slowly a gem forms, in the ancient,
once-more-molten rocks
of two human hearts, two ancient rocks,
a man’s heart and a woman’s,
that is the crystal of peace,
the slow hard jewel of trust,
the sapphire of fidelity.
The gem of mutual peace
emerging from the wild chaos of love.
“The Magic Of Love” by Helen Steiner Rice
“The Magic Of Love” by Helen Steiner Rice
“Love is like magic
And it always will be,
For love still remains
Life’s sweet mystery!
Love works in ways
That are wondrous and strange
And there’s nothing in life
That love cannot change!
Love can transform
The most commonplace
Into beauty and splendour
And sweetness and grace!
Love is unselfish,
Understanding and kind,
For it sees with its heart
And not with its mind!
Love is the answer
That everyone seeks…
Love is the language
That every heart speaks…
Love can’t be bought
It is priceless and free,
Love, like pure magic,
Is a sweet mystery!”
What is This Love by Betty Pingel
What is This Love by Betty Pingel:
You ask what is this love we here affirm, and I answer, it is a covenant you make, one with the other, a covenant born of commitment to each other’s well being and growth and commitment to your relationship itself, allowing it the possibility of change and of growth.
And so the covenant reads:
Take time for each other and act always from a caring position. Allow each other time alone for renewal and creativity. Be as honest as possible about feelings as well as actions. Share household and routine tasks with role reversal as a reality. Listen to each other with intent beyond the words. Allow other relationships and commitments in your lives. And make room in your covenant for the children of your love and when the time comes to let them go, do so with joy and caring; then come your primary relationship with fresh commitments to new beginnings.
I carry your heart in my heart by e.e.cummings
I carry your heart in my heart by e.e.cummings
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
Love is... by Susan Polis Schutz
Love is... by Susan Polis Schutz
Love is . . .
Being happy for the other person when they are happy, Being sad for the person when they are sad, Being together in good times, And being together in bad times.
Love is the source of Strength.
Love is . . . Being honest with yourself at all times, Being honest with the other person at all times, Telling, listening, respecting the truth, And never pretending.
Love is the source of Reality.
Love is . . . An understanding so complete that you feel as if you are a part of the other person, Accepting the other person just the way they are, And not trying to change them to be something else.
Love is the source of Unity.
Love is . . . The freedom to pursue your own desires while sharing your experiences with the other person, The growth of one individual alongside of and together with the growth of another individual.
Love is the source of Success.
Love is . . . The excitement of planning things together, the excitement of doing things together.
Love is the source of the Future.
Love is . . . The fury of the storm, The calm in the rainbow. Love is the source of Passion. Love is . . . Giving and taking in a daily situation, being patient with each other’s needs and desires.
Love is the source of Sharing.
Love is . . . Knowing that the other person will always be with you regardless of what happens, Missing the other person when they are away but remaining near in heart at all times.
Love is the source of Security.
Love is . . . the source of Life!
“Looking For Your Face” by Rumi
“Looking For Your Face” by Rumi
“From the beginning of my life I have been looking for your face, but today I have seen it. Today I have seen the charm, the beauty, the unfathomable grace of the face that I was looking for.
Today I have found you, and those who laughed and scorned me yesterday are sorry that they were not looking as I did. I am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty, and wish to see you with a hundred eyes.
My heart has burned with passion and has searched forever for this wondrous beauty that I now behold. I am ashamed to call this love human, and afraid of God to call it divine. Your fragrant breath, like the morning breeze, has come to the stillness of the garden. You have breathed new life into me.
I have become your sunshine, and also your shadow. My soul is screaming in ecstasy. Every fiber of my being is in love with you. Your effulgence has lit a fire in my heart, and you have made radiant for me the earth and sky.
My arrow of love has arrived at the target. I am in the house of mercy, and my heart is a place of prayer.”
The Love You Have Will Change from an Unknown Author
The Love You Have Will Change from an Unknown Author
The love you share will change, moment by moment.
To maintain the foundation you have already built,
you must place your faith in the ebb and flow of life,
of love, of relationships.
We encourage you to leap at the flow of the tide
and not resist its ebb, for it will always return.
The only true continuity, in life as in love,
is in growth, in fluidity...in freedom,
in the sense that dancers are free,
barely touching as they pass,
but partner in the same pattern.
"To Love" by James Kavanaugh
"To Love" by James Kavanaugh
To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.
Love by Diane Ackerman
Love by Diane Ackerman
Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful. It has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fuelled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love’s spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots spreading into deep and mysterious days. The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving, and being loved.
"I Love You" by Carl Sandberg
"I Love You" by Carl Sandberg
(also called "The Mother's Day Poem")
I love you for what you are, but I love you yet more for what you are going to be.
I love you not so much for your realities as for your ideals. I pray for your desires that they may be great, rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously little.
A satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall. The most beautiful rose is one hardly more than a bud wherein the pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for a larger and finer growth. Not always shall you be what you are now. You are going forward toward something great. I am on the way with you and therefore I love you.
From "Love" by Roy Croft
From "Love" by Roy Croft
I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Resignation by Nikki Giovanni
Resignation by Nikki Giovanni
I love you
because the Earth turns around the sun
because the North wind blows north
sometimes
because the Pope is Catholic
and most Rabbis Jewish
because winters flow into springs
and the air clears after a storm
because only my love for you
despite the charms or gravity
keeps me from falling off this Earth
into another dimension
I love you
because it is the natural order of things
I love you
like the habit I picked up in college
of sleeping through lectures
or saying I’m sorry
when I get stopped for speeding
because I drink a glass of water
in the morning
and chain-smoke cigarettes
all through the day
because I take my coffee Black
and my milk with chocolate
because you keep my feet warm
though my life a mess
I love you
because I don’t want it
any other way
I am helpless
in my love for you
It makes me so happy
to hear you call my name
I am amazed you can resist
locking me in an echo chamber
where your voice reverberates
through the four walls
sending me into spasmatic ecstasy
I love you
because it’s been so good
for so long
that if I didn’t love you
I’d have to be born again
and that is not a theological statement
I am pitiful in my love for you<>
The Dells tell me Love
is so simple
the thought though of you
sends indescribably delicious multitudinous
thrills throughout and through-in my body
I love you
because no two snow flakes are alike
and it is possible
if you stand tippy-toe
to walk between the raindrops
I love you
because I am afraid of the dark
and can’t sleep in the light
because I rub my eyes
when I wake up in the morning
and find you there
because you with all your magic powers were
determined that
I should love you
because there was nothing for you but that
I would love you
I love you
because you made me
want to love you
more than I love my privacy
my freedom my commitments
and responsibilities
I love you ‘cause I changed my life
to love you
because you saw me one Friday
afternoon and decided that I would
love you
I love you I love you I love you
I’ll Be There For You by Louise Cuddon
I’ll Be There For You by Louise Cuddon
I’ll be there, my darling, through thick and through thin
When your mind’s in a mess and your head’s in a spin
When your plane’s been delayed, and you’ve missed the last train
When life is just threatening to drive you insane
When your thrilling whodunit has lost its last page
When somebody tells you, you’re looking your age
When your coffee’s too cool, and your wine is too warm
When the forecast said, ‘Fine,’ but you’re out in a storm
When your quick break hotel, turns into a slum
And your holiday photos show only your thumb
When you park for five minutes in a resident’s bay
And return to discover you’ve been towed away
When the jeans that you bought in hope or in haste
Just stick on your hips and don’t reach round your waist
When the food you most like brings you out in red rashes
When as soon as you boot up the bloody thing crashes
So my darling, my sweetheart, my dear…
When you break a rule, when you act the fool
When you’ve got the flu, when you’re in a stew
When you’re last in the queue, don’t feel blue
’Cause I’m telling you, I’ll be there.
Unique & Interesting Readings
From the writings of Bob Marley
From the writings of Bob Marley
“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
Neil Gaiman’s Poem for a Friends Marriage
Neil Gaiman’s Poem for a Friends Marriage
“This is everything I have to tell you about love: nothing.
This is everything I’ve learned about marriage: nothing.
Only that the world out there is complicated,
and there are beasts in the night, and delight and pain,
and the only thing that makes it okay, sometimes,
is to reach out a hand in the darkness and find another hand to squeeze,
and not to be alone.
It’s not the kisses, or never just the kisses: it’s what they mean.
Somebody’s got your back.
Somebody knows your worst self and somehow doesn’t want to rescue you
or send for the army to rescue them.
It’s not two broken halves becoming one.
It’s the light from a distant lighthouse bringing you both safely home
because home is wherever you are both together.
So this is everything I have to tell you about love and marriage: nothing,
like a book without pages or a forest without trees.
Because there are things you cannot know before you experience them.
Because no study can prepare you for the joys or the trials.
Because nobody else’s love, nobody else’s marriage, is like yours,
and it’s a road you can only learn by walking it,
a dance you cannot be taught,
a song that did not exist before you began, together, to sing.
And because in the darkness you will reach out a hand,
not knowing for certain if someone else is even there.
And your hands will meet,
and then neither of you will ever need to be alone again.
And that’s all I know about love.”
“Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog” by Taylor Mali
“Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog” by Taylor Mali
“First of all, it’s a big responsibility,
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you’re walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain’t no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?
On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breaths
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.
Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.
Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know ‘Don’t you ever do that again!’
Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise.
It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at once,
or winds around and around you
until you’re all wound up and can’t move.
But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.
Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.”
From a letter written by George Carlin
From a letter by George Carlin
“The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts,
yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late,
get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life.
We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things. We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent. Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
And always remember: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
An excerpt from "The Master Speed" by Robert Frost
An excerpt from "The Master Speed" by Robert Frost
Two such as you with such a master speed
Cannot be parted nor be swept away
From one another once you are agreed
That life is only life forevermore
Together wing to wing and oar to oar.
What I Learned About Love, I Learned From My Dog from an Unknown Author
What I Learned About Love, I Learned From My Dog from an Unknown Author
"Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride together.
Allow the experience of fresh air
and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When loved ones come home always run to greet them.
When you want treats, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps together and stretch before rising.
Run, romp and play daily.
Be loyal.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
Thrive on the attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting, when a simple growl will do.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...
Run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk together.
Love each other unconditionally."
"He's not perfect" from the writings of Bob Marley
"He's not perfect" from the writings of Bob Marley
"He's not perfect. You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect for more than he can give. Don't analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you."
"No Union Is More Profound Than Marriage" from The Supreme Court of The United States
Justice Anthony Kennedy's "No Union Is More Profound Than Marriage" from the The Supreme Court of The United States
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered."
From Fred Rogers
This advice comes from one our most beloved childhood heroes, who triumphed in being a force for good in this world, Fred Rogers, from “The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember”:
“We need to help people to discover the true meaning of love. Love is generally confused with dependence. Those of us who have grown in true love know that we can love only in proportion to our capacity for independence.”
“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, Mass. Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, Mass. Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall
The following is quoted from the 2003 ruling that made Massachusetts the first state to recognize same-sex marriages:
Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial, and social benefits. In return it imposes weighty legal, financial, and social obligations….Without question, civil marriage enhances the “welfare of the community.” It is a “social institution of the highest importance.” … Marriage also bestows enormous private and social advantages on those who choose to marry. Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family…. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition. It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a civil right.
From William Penn, Never Marry if not for Love
From William Penn, Never Marry if not for Love
Never marry but for love;
but see that thou lovest what is lovely.
If love be not the chiefest motive,
thou wilt soon grow weary of a married state and stray from thy promise,
to search out thy pleasures in forbidden places...
Between a man and his wife nothing ought to rule but love ...
As love ought to bring them together,
so it is the best way to keep them well together.
A husband and wife that love and value one another show their children...
that they should do so too.
Others visibly lose authority in their families by their contempt of one another,
and teach their children to be unnatural by their own examples.
Let not enjoyment lessen,
but augment, affection;
it being the basest of passions to like when we have not,
what we slight when we possess.
Here it is we ought to search out our pleasure,
where the field is large and full of variety,
and of an enduring nature;
sickness,
poverty or disgrace being not able to shake it because it is not under the moving influences of worldly contingencies.
Nothing can be more entire and without reserve;
nothing more zealous,
affectionate and sincere;
nothing more contented than such a couple,
nor greater temporal felicity than to be one of them.
An Excerpt from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
An Excerpt from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.
A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.
A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master...”
Origins of Love from Plato's Symposium
Origins of Love from Plato's Symposium
Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.
To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two faces looking in opposite directions. There were three sexes then: one comprised of two men called the children of the Sun, one made of two women called the children of the Earth, and a third made of a man and a woman, called the children of the Moon. Due to the power and might of these original humans, the Gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They sought for a way to end the humans’ insolence without destroying them.
It was at this point that Zeus divided the humans in half. After the division the two parts of each desiring their other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one. So ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of humankind.
Each of us when separated, having one side only, is always looking for our other half. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two; this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.
Excerpt from "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulgham
Excerpt from "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulgham
All of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.
These are the things I learned…
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Give them to someone who feels sad.
Live a balanced life.
Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day.
Take a nap every afternoon.
Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
1. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. “You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. “We can’t choose our fate, but we can choose others. Be careful in knowing that.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5. “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love." — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
8. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears."After all this time?""Always," said Snape.—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
9. "The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them, in here."— Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. "What a beautiful place to be with friends." — Dobby, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Marriage Advice from 1886 by Jane Wells
Marriage Advice from 1886 by Jane Wells
Never go to bed angry. Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger. Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is easier to bend a little than to break. Believe the best rather than the worst. People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them. Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends. Please pass this on to your children and their children’s children. The more things change the more they are the same.
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Quotes Suitable for a Wedding from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
1. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. “You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. “We can’t choose our fate, but we can choose others. Be careful in knowing that.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
5. “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love." — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
8. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears."After all this time?""Always," said Snape.—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
9. "The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them, in here."— Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. "What a beautiful place to be with friends." — Dobby, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
11"It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love" -Professor Slughorn, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
12. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Song Lyrics
Just The Way You Are – Bruno Mars
Just The Way You Are – Bruno Mars
Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shinin',
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin',
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday.
Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her, she won't believe me,
And it's so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see,
But every time she asks me, do I look okay?
I say,
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change,
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are.
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for awhile,
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are.
Something - The Beatles
Something in the way she moves,
Attracts me like no other lover.
Something in the way she woos me.
I don't want to leave her now,
You know I believe and how.
Somewhere in her smile she knows,
That I don't need no other lover.
Something in her style that shows me.
I don't want to leave her now,
You know I believe and how
If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you,
When mountains crumble to the sea
There would still be you and me.
Kind woman, I give you my all,
Kind woman, nothing more.
Little drops of rain
Whisper of the pain
Tears of loves lost in the days gone by.
Our love is strong,
With you there is no wrong,
Together we shall go until we die. My, my, my.
Inspiration's what you are to me,
Inspiration, look and see.
And so today, my world it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done
For you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness.... I’m glad
Thank You - Led Zeppelin
Thank You - Led Zeppelin
If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you,
When mountains crumble to the sea
There would still be you and me.
Kind woman, I give you my all,
Kind woman, nothing more.
Little drops of rain
Whisper of the pain
Tears of loves lost in the days gone by.
Our love is strong,
With you there is no wrong,
Together we shall go until we die. My, my, my.
Inspiration's what you are to me,
Inspiration, look and see.
And so today, my world it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done
For you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness, I'm glad
Better Together - Jack Johnson
Better Together - Jack Johnson
There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard,
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart.
Our dreams,
And they are made out of real things,
Like a shoebox of photographs
With sepia-toned loving.
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart.
Like, Why are we here and where do we go,
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing:
It's always better when we're together.
Mmm, it's always better when we're together,
Yeah, we'll look at them stars when we're together,
Well, it's always better when we're together,
Yeah, it's always better when we're together.
Crazy Love - Van Morrison
Crazy Love - Van Morrison
I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smiles,
And when I come to her that's where I belong
Yet I'm running to her like a river's song.
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love,
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love.
She's got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come to her when the sun goes down,
Take away my trouble, take away my grief,
Take away my heartache, in the night like a thief.
Yes, I need her in the daytime,
Yes, I need her in the night,
Yes, I want to throw my arms around her,
Kiss her, hug her, kiss her, hug her tight.
And when I'm returning from so far away,
She gives me some sweet lovin' brighten up my day,
Yes, it makes me righteous, yes, it makes me feel whole,
Yes, it makes me mellow down in to my soul.
Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls
Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls
And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow.
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't wanna go home right now.
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life,
When sooner or later it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight.
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am.
If I Should Fall Behind - Bruce Springsteen
If I Should Fall Behind - Bruce Springsteen
We said we'd walk together baby come what may
That come the twilight should we lose our way
If as we're walking a hand should slip free
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me.
We swore we'd travel darlin' side by side
We'd help each other stay in stride
But each lover's steps fall so differently
But I'll wait for you
And if I should fall behind
Wait for me.
Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
But you and I know what this world can do
So let's make our steps clear that the other may see
And I'll wait for you
If I should fall behind
Wait for me.
Now there's a beautiful river in the valley ahead
There 'neath the oak's bough soon we will be wed
Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me
Darlin' I'll wait for you
Should I fall behind
Wait for me
Dear One - Mary Lambert
Dear One - Mary Lambert
"Where did you come from, bright star
What heaven did you leap from, dear love
How can I spell your name without the sound of
Autumn underneath my tongue
Without acknowledging the lovers who bent me in half
Bless them for bringing me to you
How can I say your name without
Also breathing the words, my God, I found you
How can I ever speak again with this mouth
When it has found where it belongs
When you touch me
I am a bed of calla lilies
I will make a house for you and fill it with evergreens
I will paint sunsets on every wall
So you can only see beautiful things
How can I say "love" without wanting to fold myself into you
Like a thousand paper cranes
Dear one
I was halved the moment I was born
The other piece of me is inside of your mouth
And I was found whole the moment you spoke"
I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys
I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys
"I wanna be your vacuum cleaner
breathing in your dust
I wanna be your Ford Cortina
I will never rust
If you like your coffee hot
let me be your coffee pot
You call the shots
I wanna be yours
I wanna be your raincoat
for those frequent rainy days
I wanna be your dreamboat
when you want to sail away
Let me be your teddy bear
take me with you anywhere
I don't care
I wanna be yours
I wanna be your electric meter
I will not run out
I wanna be the electric heater
you'll get cold without
I wanna be your setting lotion
hold your hair in deep devotion
Deep as the deep Atlantic ocean
that's how deep is my devotion"
In My Life - John Lennon
In My Life - John Lennon
"There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more"
The Vow - RuthAnne
The Vow - RuthAnne
"When time is up and the sun it dies
Til the rivers flood and the ocean dries
Hand in hand under the falling sky
I will love you
When I'm old so old and I lose my mind
I'll still look at you like it's the first time
So many say it and it's all a lie
But I will love you
You are the reason I make it through the day
You gimme the reason to better all my ways
The beauty goes, the money spent
And everything else fades away
You are my constant
When we've walked the earth every inch and mile
Laughed so hard until we cried
Through every triumph and every trial
I will love you
When time is up and the sun it dies
Til the rivers flood and the ocean dries
Hand in hand under the falling sky
I will love you"
I Choose You - Sara Bareilles
I Choose You - Sara Bareilles
"Let the bough break, let it come down crashing
Let the sun fade out to a dark sky
I can't say I'd even notice it was absent
Because I could live by the light in your eyes
I'll unfold before you
Would have strung together
The very first words of a lifelong love letter
There was a time when I would have believed them
If they told me that you could not come true
Just love's illusion
But then you found me
And everything changed
And I believe in something again
My whole heart
Will be yours forever
This is a beautiful start
To a lifelong love letter
We are not perfect we'll learn from our mistakes
And as long as it takes I will prove my love to you
I am not scared of the elements I am underprepared,
But I am willing
And even better
I get to be the other half of you
Tell the world that we finally got it all right
I choose
You
I will become yours and you will become mine
I choose
You"
Time In A Bottle - Jim Croce
Time In A Bottle - Jim Croce
I
f I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
'Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with
If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with
Forever and Ever, Amen - by Randy Travis
"Forever and Ever, Amen," by Randy Travis
You may think that I'm talking foolish
You've heard that I'm wild and I'm free
You may wonder how I can promise you now
This love that I feel for you always will be
But you're not just time that I'm killin'
I'm no longer one of those guys
As sure as I live, this love that I give
Is gonna be yours until the day that I die
Oh, baby, I'm gonna love you forever
Forever and ever, amen
As long as old men sit and talk about the weather
As long as old women sit and talk about old men
If you wonder how long I'll be faithful
I'll be happy to tell you again
I'm gonna love you forever and ever
Forever and ever, amen
They say time take its toll on a body
Makes a young girl's brown hair turn gray
Well, honey, I don't care, I ain't in love with your hair
And if it all fell out, well, I'd love you anyway
They say time can play tricks on a mem'ry
Make people forget things they knew
Well, it's easy to see it's happenin' to me
I've already forgotten every woman but you
Oh, darlin', I'm gonna love you forever
Forever and ever, amen
I Cross My Heart - George Strait
I Cross My Heart - George Strait
"Our love is unconditional
We knew it from the start
I can see it in your eyes
You can feel it from my heart
From here on after
Let's stay the way we are right now
And share all the love and laughter
That a lifetime will allow.
I cross my heart
And promise to
Give all I've got to give
To make all your dreams come true
In all the world
You'll never find
A love as true as mine
You will always be the miracle
That makes my life complete
And as long as there's a breath in me
I'll make yours just as sweet
As we look into the future
It's as far as we can see
So let's make each tomorrow
Be the best that it can be"
Grow Old With Me - John Lennon
Grow Old With Me - John Lennon
also sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Grow old along with me
The best is yet to be
When our time has come
We will be as one
God bless our love
God bless our love
Grow old along with me
Two branches of one tree
Face the setting sun
When the day is done
God bless our love
God bless our love
Spending our lives together
Man and wife together
World without end
World without end
Grow old along with me
Whatever fate decrees
We will see it through
For our love is true
God bless our love
God bless our love
Happiness Is You - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash
Happiness Is You - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash
Way down the mountain I chased a moonbeam
On the beach I built sand castles too
My moonbeams faded my castles tumbled
All of this was meaningless 'cause happiness is you
No more chasing moonbeams or catching falling stars
I know now my pot of gold is anywhere you are
My heart won't miss you my heart goes with you
Loneliness is emptiness but happiness is you
I tried to doubt you and live without you
Tried to deny but I love you like a do
But I realize now and I'll admit it
You'll always be a part of me 'cause happiness is you
No more chasing moonbeams
TV & Movies
From "Meet Joe Black"
From "Meet Joe Black"
"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love — well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived."
Wedding vows from "Parks and Recreation"
"The things that you have done for me, to help me, support me, surprise me, to make me happy, go above and beyond what any person deserves. You're all I need. I love you and I like you."
From George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series
From George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series
"As you are the Moon of his life, he shall be your Sun and Stars. Your love shall be as ever present as those two celestial bodies ... even though they are sometimes hidden from one another's sight. Your love will be the guiding force that charts the course of your tomorrows, holds your world together in difficult times, and will make life itself shine bolder and brighter than we human beings have a right to dream of."
Opening scene from "Love, Actually"
Opening scene from "Love, Actually"
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion is starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there—fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the twin towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge—they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
Excerpt from the movie Frida
Excerpt from the movie Frida
"I don't believe in marriage. No, I really don't. Let me be clear about that. I think at worst it's a hostile political act, a way for small-minded men to keep women in the house and out of the way, wrapped up in the guise of tradition and conservative religious nonsense. At best, it's a happy delusion - these two people who truly love each other and have no idea how truly miserable they're about to make each other. But, but, when two people know that, and they decide with eyes wide open to face each other and get married anyway, then I don't think it's conservative or delusional. I think it's radical and courageous and very romantic."
From "When Harry Met Sally"
From "When Harry Met Sally"
I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
From Disney's movie, "Frozen"
From Disney's movie, "Frozen"
We’re not saying you can change them, ‘cuz people don’t really change We’re only saying that love’s a force that’s powerful and strange People make bad choices if they’re mad, or scared, or stressed Throw a little love their way (throw a little love their way) and you’ll bring out their best. True love brings out their best! Everyone’s a bit of a fixer-upper, that’s what it’s all about! We need each other to raise us up and round us out. Everyone’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but when push comes to shove... The only fixer-upper fixer that can fix up a fixer-upper is true love
From "Sex and the City"
From "Sex and the City"
His hello was the end of her endings.
Her laugh was their first step down the aisle.
His hand would be hers to hold forever.
His forever was as simple as her smile.
He said she was what was missing.
She said instantly she knew.
She was a question to be answered.
And his answer was "I do."
From "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
From "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
"My dearest friend, If you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side. Where we could gaze into the stars, and sit together, now and forever. For it is plain as anyone could see, we're simply meant to be." —Jack Skellington
From "Corpse Bride"
From "Corpse Bride"
“With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup shall never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. And with this ring, I ask you to be mine.”
Penny & Leonard's Vows from "The Big Bang Theory"
Penny & Leonard's Vows from "The Big Bang Theory"
Leonard: Penny, we are made of particles that have existed since the moment the universe began. I like to think those atoms traveled 14 billion years through time and space to create us so that we could be together and make each other whole.
Penny: Leonard. You're not only the love of my life. You're my best friend. And you've got a friend in me. You got troubles. I got 'em too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We stick together and we can see it through, because you've got a friend in me.
From "Patch Adams"
From "Patch Adams"
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly without complexities abide. I love you because I know no other way then this. So close that your hand, on my chest, is my hand. So close that when you close your eyes, I fall asleep.
Readings on Marriage
Why Marriage? By Dena Acolatse
“Why Marriage” by Mari Nichols
Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person with all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body…Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me, Who won’t hold them against me, Who loves me when I’m unlikable, Who sees the small child in me, and Who looks for the divine potential of me…Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night with someone who thanks God for me; with someone I feel blessed to hold…Because marriage means opportunity to grow in love in friendship…Because marriage is a discipline to be added to a list of achievements…Because marriages do not fail, people fail when they enter into marriage expecting another to make them whole…Because, knowing this, I promise myself to take full responsibility for my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness. I create me. I take half of the responsibility for my marriage. Together we create our marriage…Because with this understanding, the possibilities are limitless.
Together we create our marriage.
Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless
and our love will last forever…
Marriage Is, Author Unknown
Marriage Is, Author Unknown
Marriage Is...
Learning to give not always to take,
Learning to forgive each little mistake,
Learning to love whatever the cost,
Always remember alone you’d be lost.
Trying so hard your partner to please,
Trying to save whilst paying the fees,
Trying to smile when things turn out wrong,
Always remember to curb your tongue.
Never to think of only yourself,
Never to say you wish you had wealth.
Never to let your temper get hot,
Always be thankful for what you have got.
If you remember all of these things,
You will discover the joys that it brings,
Then you will have what so many folks miss,
A lifetime of love and a marriage of bliss.
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
“Marriage is what happens “between the memorable.” … we often look back on our marriages years later, and all we can recall are “the vacations, and emergencies” – the high points and low points. The rest of it blends into a blurry sort of daily sameness. But it is that very blurred sameness, that comprises marriage. Marriage is those two thousand indistinguishable conversations, chatted over two thousand indistinguishable breakfasts, where intimacy turns like a slow wheel. How do you measure the worth of becoming that familiar to somebody- so utterly well known and so thoroughly ever-present, that you become an almost invisible necessity, like air?”
“The act of quiet nighttime talking, illustrates for me more than anything else the curious alchemy of companionship.”
“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow – this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”
Marriage Joins Two People by Edmund O’Neill:
Marriage Joins Two People by Edmund O’Neill:
Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is 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 other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child.
Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger 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 a love that is deeper than life.
When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto 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 each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.
Betty Pingel's writing, "The Art of Marriage"
Betty Pingel's writing, "The Art of Marriage"
There is an art to marriage as there is to any creative activity we human beings engage in. This art asks that we pay attention to the little things as well as the big ones that are part of the closeness of marriage. Never grow too old to hold hands. At least once each day, remember to say, “I love you.” In so much as it is possible, develop the capacity to forgive and forget and heal quarrels as they happen so that you do not go to bed angry. Your courtship should not end with the honeymoon; so pay attention that you do not come to take each other for granted, and remember to speak words of appreciation and demonstrate your gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is important to have a mutual sense of values and common objectives so that you stand together as you work through the world; and do things for each other, not as a duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. Do not expect perfection of each other. But do give each other room to grow and cultivate flexibility, patience, understanding, and sense of humor in your relationship. Your marriage is not just for two people. Use it to form a circle of love that gathers in your families and the children who may be part of your lives.
Remember that standing together never means dissolving your individual selves into each other, but indeed means the strengthening of the individuality of each. A good marriage evolves when two distinct individuals face life’s joy and its sorrow in harmony, not in unison.
This list is only a small part of what is required of two people who would truly accept that making a marriage over the years is an artistic endeavor worthy of our best efforts. It is not just another relationship in our lives; it is the one that gives us courage and the support to reach out to other people in love and wholeness.
The Apache Wedding Blessing
The Apache Wedding Blessing
Now you feel no rain,
for each of you will be a shelter to the other.
Now you feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no loneliness,
for each of you will be a companion to the other.
You are two bodies,
but there is one life before you and one home.
When evening falls,
each will look up and the other will be there.
He’ll take her hand; she will take his
and you’ll turn together
To look at the road you travelled to reach this:
the hour of your happiness.
It stretches behind you, even as the future lies ahead,
a long and winding road, whose every turning
means discovery.
Old hopes, new laughter, shared fears.
Your adventure has just begun.
Shorter Version
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years,
May happiness be your companion and
your days together be good and long upon the earth.
"The Art of Marriage," by William A. Peterson
"The Art of Marriage," by William A. Peterson
The little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating
gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Soulmates, from "The Bridge Across Forever" by Rchard Bach
Soulmates, from "The Bridge Across Forever" by Rchard Bach
A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.
Foundations of Marriage by Regina Hill
Foundations of Marriage by Regina Hill
Love, trust, and forgiveness are the foundations of marriage. In marriage, many days will bring happiness, while other days may be sad. But together, two hearts can overcome everything...In marriage, all of the moments won't be exciting or romantic, and sometimes worries and anxiety will be overwhelming. But together, two hearts that accept will find comfort together. Recollections of past joys, pains, and shared feelings will be the glue that holds everything together during even the worst and most insecure moments.
Reaching out to each other as a friend, and becoming the confidant and companion that the other one needs, is the true magic and beauty of any two people together. It's inspiring in each other a dream or a feeling, and having faith in each other and not giving up... even when all the odds say to quit. It's allowing each other to be vulnerable, to be himself or herself, even when the opinions or thoughts aren't in total agreement or exactly what you'd like them to be. It's getting involved and showing interest in each other, really listening and being available, the way any best friend should be. Exactly three things need to be remembered in a marriage if it is to be a mutual bond of sharing, caring, and loving throughout life: love, trust, and forgiveness.
Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of its Love by Edmund O'Neill
Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of its Love by Edmund O'Neill
Marriage is a commitment to life, to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal; a joining that is 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 other’s 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 tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are fresher; commitment is stronger; even anger 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 fulfil.
Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest Of Your Life by Chris Ardis
Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest Of Your Life by Chris Ardis
Marriage is love walking hand in hand together. It’s laughing with each other about silly little things, and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness. In marriage, love is trusting each other when you’re apart. It’s getting over disappointments and hurts, knowing that these are present in all relationships. It’s the realization that there is no one else in this world that you’d rather be with than the one you’re married to. It’s thinking of new things to do together; it’s growing old together. Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.
Gender Neutral/ Feminist Readings
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
“'What is REAL?' asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. 'Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?'
'Real isn’t how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'
'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.
'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.'
'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'
'It doesn’t happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.'
'I suppose you are real?' said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled.
'Someone made me Real,' he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.'
From "Still Life with Woodpecker" by Tom Robbins
“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won’t adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words “make” and “stay” become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.”
By bell hools
By bell hooks
Genuine love is rarely an emotional space where needs are instantly gratified. To know love we have to invest time and commitment… "dreaming that love will save us, solve all our problems or provide a steady state of bliss or security only keeps us stuck in wishful fantasy, undermining the real power of the love — which is to transform us.' Many people want love to function like a drug, giving them an immediate and sustained high. They want to do nothing, just passively receive the good feeling.
From "The Hundred Secret Senses" by Amy Tan
From "The Hundred Secret Senses" by Amy Tan
“Love is tricky. It is never mundane or daily. You can never get used to it. You have to walk with it, then let it walk with you. You can never balk. It moves you like the tide. It takes you out to sea, then lays you on the beach again. Today’s struggling pain is the foundation for a certain stride through the heavens. You can run from it but you can never say no.”
From "Love" by Roy Croft
From "Love" by Roy Croft
I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Excerpt from "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke
Excerpt from "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke
"Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person … Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distance exists, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of seeing each other as a whole before an immense sky.”
From "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle
From "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle
But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.
To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take. If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.
To Love is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh
To Love is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh
To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.
From "Adam Bede" by George Eliot
From "Adam Bede" by George Eliot
“What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life–to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?”
From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems of Mary Oliver
From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems of Mary Oliver
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)”
Resignation by Nikki Giovanni
Resignation by Nikki Giovanni
I love you
because the Earth turns around the sun
because the North wind blows north
sometimes
because the Pope is Catholic
and most Rabbis Jewish
because winters flow into springs
and the air clears after a storm
because only my love for you
despite the charms or gravity
keeps me from falling off this Earth
into another dimension
I love you
because it is the natural order of things
I love you
like the habit I picked up in college
of sleeping through lectures
or saying I’m sorry
when I get stopped for speeding
because I drink a glass of water
in the morning
and chain-smoke cigarettes
all through the day
because I take my coffee Black
and my milk with chocolate
because you keep my feet warm
though my life a mess
I love you
because I don’t want it
any other way
I am helpless
in my love for you
It makes me so happy
to hear you call my name
I am amazed you can resist
locking me in an echo chamber
where your voice reverberates
through the four walls
sending me into spasmatic ecstasy
I love you
because it’s been so good
for so long
that if I didn’t love you
I’d have to be born again
and that is not a theological statement
I am pitiful in my love for you<>
The Dells tell me Love
is so simple
the thought though of you
sends indescribably delicious multitudinous
thrills throughout and through-in my body
I love you
because no two snow flakes are alike
and it is possible
if you stand tippy-toe
to walk between the raindrops
I love you
because I am afraid of the dark
and can’t sleep in the light
because I rub my eyes
when I wake up in the morning
and find you there
because you with all your magic powers were
determined that
I should love you
because there was nothing for you but that
I would love you
I love you
because you made me
want to love you
more than I love my privacy
my freedom my commitments
and responsibilities
I love you ‘cause I changed my life
to love you
because you saw me one Friday
afternoon and decided that I would
love you
I love you I love you I love you
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
“'What is REAL?' asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. 'Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?'
'Real isn’t how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'
'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.
'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.'
'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'
'It doesn’t happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.'
'I suppose you are real?' said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled.
'Someone made me Real,' he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.'
Romantic Quotes
Once in a while...
Once in a while,
Right in the middle of an ordinary life,
Love gives us a fairy tale.
Anonymous
In A Hundred Lifetimes...
And I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you."
The Chaos Of Stars
Most Beautiful Things
The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.
-Helen Keller
Act of Marriage...
The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife.
-Barbara de Angelis
Makes The Ride Worthwhile...
Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
-Franklin P. Jones
Love...
One word frees us
Of all the weight and pain in life,
That word is Love
-Socrates, Greek philosopher
My Heart Love Till Now...
My Heart Love Till Now...
Did my heart love till now?
Forswear it sight,
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
Romeo, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Love asks me no questions,
And gives me endless support...
William Shakespeare
One Possession In Another...
No human relation gives one possession in another - every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone. -Kahil Gibran
Union Of Two...
"A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers." -Robert Quillen
All The Pleasures Of Friendship...
A happy marriage has in it all the pleasures of friendships, all the enjoyment of sense and reason - and indeed all the sweets of life. Joseph Addison journalist
The most eloquent silence; that of two mouths meeting in a kiss.
-Anonymous
To Keep Your Marriage Brimming
To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up.
-Ogden Nash
They Sing A Song Only You Can Hear
You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear. - Oscar Wilde
You Know You're In Love...
You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams, -Dr Suess.
There Is No Love For You Like Mine...
In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine. – Maya Angelou
The Full Value Of Joy
To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with. – Mark Twain
Whenever You're Wrong..
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up. –Ogden Nash
The Best Thing To Hold Onto..
“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” –Audrey Hepburn
Love One Another
Love one another and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.” –Michael Leunig
What Greater Thing...
“What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined…to strengthen each other…to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.” –George Eliot
The Ride Worthwhile...
Love doesn’t make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile. – Elizabeth Barret Browning
Marriage Quotes
The real act of marriage...
“The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It’s a choice you make–not just on your wedding day, but over and over again–and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife.”
– Barbara de Angelis
You come to love...
"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.” – Sam Keen
Happy marriages begin..
“Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.” – Tom Mullen
You come to love...
“You come to love not by finding the right person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.” – Sam Keen
We tend to forget...
“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” —Frederick Keonig
A good marriage is...
“A good marriage is where both people feel like they’re getting the better end of the deal.” ― Anne Lamott
Marriages is a huge investment...
“Marriage is a huge investment: of time, of energy and of emotion. Protect and keep contributing to your investment.” – Karen Gordon
Marriages is not a noun...
“Marriage is not a noun; it’s a verb. It isn’t something you get. It’s something you do. It’s the way you love your partner every day.” – Barbara De Angelis
A successful marriage..
"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
— Mingon McLaughlin
What counts in marriage...
"What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility."
— Leo Tolstoy
