SHARE YOUR NON-RELIGIOUS READINGS - here are mine

I like these two but they are very similar. I would love more choices! Please share!


To Love is Not to Possess
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
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,
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.


Excerpt from: The Bridge Across Forever
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. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.

The Art of Marriage by Wilfred Arlan 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.

i am having my sister & brother read this - i think it comes from a celtic ceremony.

(sister)
Bride’s name, please face Groom’s name, and hold his hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you. (Bride and groom should be facing each other, the groom’s upturned hands resting in the brides’.)

These are the hands, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.

These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within your womb.

These are the hands that look so large and clumsy, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

(brother):
Groom’s name, please hold Bride’s name’s hands, palms up, where you may see the gift that they are to you. (Bride should now place her upturned hands in the Groom’s hands.)

These are the hands, smooth, young, and carefree, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of her life.

These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurts, supporting and encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it’s time to let go.

These are the hands that will massage tension from your neck and back in the evenings, after you’ve both had a long hard day.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

They are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick or console you when you are grieving. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will hold you in joy and excitement and hope, each time she tells you that you are to have another child; that together you have created a new life.

Perhaps these are the hands that will comfort you when you are told you cannot have a child, and will convince you that together you will create new life in other ways.

These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams. Together, as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.

Officiant reads:
Dear Universe, bless the hands that you see before you this day. May they always be held by one another. Give them the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. Keep them tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their love.

Help these hands to continue building a relationship founded in your grace, rich in caring, and devoted to reaching for your perfection. May Bride’s name and Groom’s name see their four hands as healer, protector, shelter, and guide.

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Posted by MrsK2008

The Art of Marriage by Wilfred Arlan Peterson.

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I like!
Are you having someone read this?

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Posted by surfersgirl

We're doing the hands ceremony too but the officiant is reading it.

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are you doing it in lieu of something? or part of your ceremony?

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Posted by surfersgirl

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Posted by MrsK2008

The Art of Marriage by Wilfred Arlan Peterson.

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I like!
Are you having someone read this?

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Yes, my niece is going to readit for us.

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Posted by dewdrop


i am having my sister & brother read this - i think it comes from a celtic ceremony.

(sister)
Bride’s name, please face Groom’s name, and hold his hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you. (Bride and groom should be facing each other, the groom’s upturned hands resting in the brides’.)

These are the hands, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.

These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within your womb.

These are the hands that look so large and clumsy, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

(brother):
Groom’s name, please hold Bride’s name’s hands, palms up, where you may see the gift that they are to you. (Bride should now place her upturned hands in the Groom’s hands.)

These are the hands, smooth, young, and carefree, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of her life.

These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurts, supporting and encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it’s time to let go.

These are the hands that will massage tension from your neck and back in the evenings, after you’ve both had a long hard day.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

They are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick or console you when you are grieving. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will hold you in joy and excitement and hope, each time she tells you that you are to have another child; that together you have created a new life.

Perhaps these are the hands that will comfort you when you are told you cannot have a child, and will convince you that together you will create new life in other ways.

These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams. Together, as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.

Officiant reads:
Dear Universe, bless the hands that you see before you this day. May they always be held by one another. Give them the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. Keep them tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their love.

Help these hands to continue building a relationship founded in your grace, rich in caring, and devoted to reaching for your perfection. May Bride’s name and Groom’s name see their four hands as healer, protector, shelter, and guide.

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Wow. I cannot speak. I'm sitting here in tears!! That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read!! Hands are so expressive, and this captures that idea beautifully!

Where did you find this piece?

This will be one of ours:

From 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' by 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.