Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite readings from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. It speaks to the truth of what should remain after the giddiness of being “in love” evolves, we hope, into something deeper and much more meaningful.
“When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are to 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 desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No…don’t blush. I am telling you some truths. For 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. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But it is!”
One of my favorite parts of a wedding is hearing what was chosen for the ceremony reading. Especially when it is not the traditional reading many of us have heard before. All too often, we get lost in the pretty of the wedding and we lose site of the meaning of the marriage. So when you are chosing a reading let it remind you of the true purpose of the day. When the last guest has left and the excitement of this special day has faded away what remains and what should always remain is love.
