| Readings (Page 5) |
| READING NO. 55 The Key to Love, Author Unknown The key to love is understanding ... as it is the little things that say so much by themselves. The key to love is forgiveness .... to accept each others faults and pardon mistakes, The key to love is sharing ... Sharing and acing 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 ... Giving without thought of return, but with the hope of just a simple smile, and by giving in but never giving up. The key to love is respect ... 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. READING NO. 56 I Love You, Carl Sandburg I love you. 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. But the most beautiful rose is one, hardly more than a bud, wherein the pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for 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 . . I love you. READING NO. 57 The Colour of My Love, David Foster and Arthur Janov I'll paint a sun to warm your heart Knowing that we'll never part. I'll draw the years all passing by So much to learn, so much to try. I'll paint my mood in a shadow blue, Paint my soul to be with you. I'll sketch your lips in shaded tones, Draw your mouth to my own. I'll trace a hand to wipe your tears And trace a look to calm your fears. A silhouette of dark and light To hold each other oh so tight. I'll paint the stars in the evening sky, Draw the light into your eyes, A touch of love, a touch of grace, To softly fall on your moonlit face. And with this ring our lives will start, Let nothing keep our love apart. I'll take your hand to hold in mine, And be together through all time. READING NO. 57 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. READING NO. 58 Words on Friendship, Judy Bielicki, Melbourne, Australia It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However, without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life -- it is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and encourages us to grow to our best potential. {Bride's Name} and {Groom's Name} came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship. READING NO. 59 Touch the Air Softly by William Jay Smith Now touch the air softly, step gently, one, two ... I'll love you 'til roses are robin's egg blue; I'll love you 'til gravel is eaten for bread, And lemons are orange, and lavender's red. Now touch the air softly, swing gently the broom. I'll love you 'til windows are all of a room; And the table is laid, And the table is bare, And the ceiling reposes on bottomless air. I'll love you 'til heaven rips the stars from his coat, And the moon rows away in a glass-bottomed boat; And Orion steps down like a river below, And earth is ablaze, and oceans aglow. So touch the air softly, and swing the broom high. We will dust the grey mountains, and sweep the blue sky: And I'll love you as long as the furrow the plough, As however is ever, and ever is now. READING NO. 60 Love's Coming by John Shaw Neilson Quietly as rosebuds Talk to the thin air, Love came so lightly, I knew not he was there. Quietly as lovers Creep at the middle moon, Softly as players tremble in the tears of a tune; Quietly as lilies Their faint vows declare Came the shy pilgrim: I knew not he was there. Quietly as tears fall On a warm sin, Softly as griefs call In a violin; Without hail or tempest, Blue sword of flame. Love came so lightly I knew not that he came. READING NO. 61 Oath of Friendship -- Anon., China, 1st Century B.C. I want to be your friend For ever and ever without break or decay. When the hills are all flat And the rivers are all dry, When it lightens and thunders in winter, When it rains and snows in summer, When Heaven and Earth mingle Not 'til then will I part from you. READING NO. 62 What is Love? by Walter Rinder Love is just not looking at each other and saying "You're wonderful". There are times when we are anything but wonderful. Love is looking out in the same direction. It is linking our strength to pull a common load. It is pushing together towards the far horizons, hand in hand. Love is knowing that when our strength falters, we can borrow the strength of someone who cares. Love is a strange awareness that our sorrows will be shared and made lighter by sharing; that joys will be enriched and multiplied by the joy of another. Love is knowing someone else cares that we are not alone in life. READING NO. 63 Aztec Indian Wedding Poem I know not whether thou has been absent: I lie down with thee, I rise up with thee, In my dreams thou art with me. If my eardrops tremble in my ears, I know it is thou moving within my heart. READING NO. 64 Cherokee Blessing God in heaven above, Please protect the ones we love. We honor all that you created As we pledge our hearts and lives together. We honor Mother Earth -- And ask for our marriage to be abundant, And to grow stronger through the seasons We honor fire -- And ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts. We honor wind -- And ask that we sail through life safely and calm as in our father's arms. We honor water -- To clean and soothe our relationship that it may never thirst for love. With all the forces of the universe you created, We pray for harmony and true happiness As we forever grow young together. READING NO. 65 Eskimo Wedding Vow You are my husband/wife My feet shall run because of you. My feet dance because of you. My eyes see because of you. My mind thinks because of you. And I shall love because of you. READING NO. 66 Excerpt from Hamlet by William Shakespeare Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love. READING NO. 67 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. READING NO. 68 ~ The Key to Love ~by Anon, 1st Century BC, 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 ... without thought of return, but with the hope of just a simple smile, and by giving in but never giving up. The key to love is respect ... 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. |
| Hudson Valley Ceremonies |