Friday 21 August 2009

Words to think about as I prepare for marriage

I'm getting married in two weeks and there is a lot to do, but also a lot to think about. I hope I can find some times to be still before the big day arrives.
Here are two poems and one quote that a friend sent me.

I'll Still Be Loving You
C. David Hay

I'll still be loving you.
When your hair has turned to winter and your teeth are in a plate,
When your getter up and go has gone to stop and wait

I'll still be loving you.
When your attributes have shifted beyond the bounds of grace,
I'll count your many blessings, not the wrinkles in your face

I'll still be loving you.
When the crackle in your voice matches that within your knee and the times are getting frequent that you don't remember me

I'll still be loving you.
Growing old is not a sin, it's something we all do. I hope you'll always understand
I'll still be loving you.


Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Louis de Bernieres

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have 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 eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

The Invitation
-Oriah

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Wednesday 19 August 2009

"The slower day will never come...?"

Well, I have decided to try and keep this blog updated more often from now on!

Life seems very hectic at the moment - my book is out tomorrow (and apparently already in the shops), DVD is in mass production and almost ready... and to add to all that, I am getting married in less than 20 days!

A few months ago, whilst in the midst of writing against a long-missed-deadline I remember thinking that "once I finish this book, I will be able to relax and life will suddenly be easy and far less busy...". However, as it turned out, I have been just as busy as ever.

It reminds me of Rob Parson's wise saying that, however much we may persuade ourselves otherwise, we just have to accept that "the slower day will never come."