Building Love and Commitment

I just read a book titled "Building A Home With My Husband" by Rachel Simon. I enjoyed the book because it actually was about a house renovation. But the thread throughout is the relationship between husband and wife.

Near the end of the story are some quotes that I want to share here.

"So this is commitment, I realized, as we walked up the hill toward our house. Pressing myself to admit my feelings aloud, and how they arose---even when I'm so convinced that he did something wrong that I'm on the verge of running. Of course, commitment requires that the other person must love and respect me enough to want to hear, and I must love and respect him enough to speak words he can hear. But assuming that is the case, then this is commitment: Valuing our unity over my pride, the whole of our us rather than the sum of my righteousness.

.... Love is not just a feeling, and commitment is not just a decision. They, when intertwined, are action. Love and commitment move, and touch, and listen, and speak. They are deeds that sacrifice individual pride. Their goal is not just happiness, but mutual vulnerability."

These words wrapped around my heart and taught it to sing and dance.

Marriage Enrichment Poem

A wonderful poem titled "Marriage" was the inspiration for this post. Margie at "When The Heart Speaks" has given me permission to share her poem on my blog. Thank you, Margie.

"Marriage is an instrument
designed to be played upon
by twenty fingers, and which,
when tuned with delicate precision
by human love and empathy,
is capable of exalting souls
and moving mountains; however,
the music is composed by two artists,
the songs are sung by two mouths
and the martial concert is directed
by two conductors;
thus the longed-for-achievement
of perfect harmony demands
a deliberate and calculated
double self-sacrifice,
that from this union of two
there may arise
perfect oneness."

Marriage is a special subject for me. And this poem awakened my intense passion for the commitment of two people making choices to enhance and adhere to the sacred bond of togetherness. Everything in this poem audibly describes the joint effort of two lovers to achieve oneness. Our eyes and ears are not solely for the beloved, we drive to jobs and talk to other people, but our hearts are reserved unquestionably for the specific person chosen by the intense joy in loving someone unconditionally.