Is Romantic Love Enough?

After the Royal Wedding yesterday, it seems that the most common phrase on everyone’s lips is “how romantic”.

And yes, the wedding was beautiful and Kate Catherine and William did look very much in love, but I sure hope they have much more than romantic love.

Perhaps we need to consider exactly what true love is and be sure that we are seeking and choosing the right love and not chasing only the romance.

In the wake of all the romantic feelings aroused by the royal wedding, I share with you one of my favorite poems and hope that it will remind us what true love is all about.


Not Love, Perhaps by A.S.J. Tessimond

This is not Love, perhaps,
Love that lays down its life,
that many waters cannot quench,
nor the floods drown,
But something written in lighter ink,
said in a lower tone, something, perhaps, especially our own.

A need, at times, to be together and talk,
And then the finding we can walk
More firmly through dark narrow places,
And meet more easily nightmare faces;
A need to reach out, sometimes, hand to hand,
And then find Earth less like an alien land;
A need for alliance to defeat
The whisperers at the corner of the street.

A need for inns on roads, islands in seas,
Halts for discoveries to be shared,
Maps checked, notes compared;
A need, at times, of each for each,
Direct as the need of throat and tongue for speech.

Conversation Fridays - Tornados and Royal Weddings

Red Jade: My heart goes out to all the people affected by the tornados in the South and Midwest. I heard a story on NPR this evening about how one boy survived when their house was leveled to the ground. He was snapped up by the tornado just when his father touched him to wake him up and get him out of bed. The 8 year old boy then floated down and walked out of the rubble to find his family. Their house was reduced to rubble. Check out the story here, http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135812706/witness-recalls-deadly-tuscaloosa-tornado. It's a true miracle. The tornado literally saved him by lifting him out of his bed before the same tornado leveled the house!

Rafiki: Wow that is definitely a miracle for the Eppes family. It was interesting watching the CBS evening news today and seeing so many survivors talking about how grateful they are though they lost everything. One couple hid under the bed and everything was destroyed in their house except the mattress that hid them. It reminds all of us that we need very little and even when we are stripped to the bare bottom, we have everything we need.

Red Jade: So true. Unfortunately it takes tough times for most of us to remember how fortunate we really are. To have our families, to be in good health, that's all that matters and for that I am really grateful. Talking of families, some peeps are about to create a family of their own - the royal wedding is about to start in a few hours. All the pomp and circumstance can be really interesting to watch but no way am I getting up at 5 am CST to watch it live. Lots of restaurants here in Houston are hosting viewing parties at that hour. Are you going to any?

Rafiki: No I am not. I was wondering why I cannot seem to get into the festivities. I will watch the wedding on TV and see all the things I love about weddings like the dress, cake, decor, etc. but I am not sure I would wake up at 5am to watch a wedding of someone I do not really know. I always wonder about that, as long as I have been in the US, the celebrity culture baffles me. We are all people and I am not sure that what we do defines us. Anyway I still get to witness history in the evening news and that is good enough for me. How about you?

Red Jade: Am with you on that crazy celebrity culture that is around us and I don't get it. Why should I spend time, energy, money, opportunity cost, etc. to watch or follow someone around as they live their life. Seems like there is something wrong with that picture. When do I get to live my own life? For the royal wedding, I do admit that I like the pomp and circumstance surrounding it more than the wedding details. But I will be the first one to say that the monarchy should be done away with. Granted I don't have a vote in Britain, so what I think really does not count. It does seem like an awful waste of taxpayer money for a monarchy that is mainly ceremonial. Nevertheless, I do wish them every happiness.

Rafiki: The wedding may not wake me up but I will feel like we have lost all links to our ancient culture if there was not a queen or king anywhere in the world. The wedding is definitely a big deal . . . the Washington Post published a royal wedding watch survival guide at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/royal-wedding-watch/post/royal-wedding-watch-survival-guide/2011/04/25/AFyU6IrE_blog.html.

Red Jade: Wow, this is a very detailed guide outlining the time line of the whole event plus all the networks that are covering the wedding, Let me check it out in detail so I will have something to talk about at the water cooler tomorrow. Enjoy!