Non-religious readings

We are doing a portion of James Kavanaugh's "To Love is Not To Possess":

"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
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
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,
Because finally, despite a child's scars
Or an adult's deepest wounds,
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.”

We are doing two.
“The Art of Marriage” by William A. Peterson
”He’s Not Perfect” Bob Marley

Hi Pam!! I found some poetic readings that I thought you might be interested in. You could also look through Share your favorite non-traditional ceremony readings discussion to see if something strikes your fancy.

To Be One With Each Other by George Eliot

An excerpt from The Irrational Season by Madeleine L’Engle

To Love is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh

Maybe an excerpt from Walden by Henry David Thoreau? Very outdoor appropriate.

Is there a book or a show that you and your FS share a passion or enjoy together? You could always read an excerpt from there and it would be personalized because it comes from something special to you.

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Beautiful, thanks!

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Love both of these thanks!

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Wow thanks, great suggestions!

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Not a problem!!

We are having two - one is " How Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog" by Taylor Mali and the other is an excerpt from Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Gift from the Sea excerpt

We had an "Apache" wedding blessing. I put it in quotes because I don't think it's an authentic native american blessing but was actually just something from an old novel. Nevertheless I still loved the sentiment and it, for us, worked great for a ceremony in front of a tree int he orchard.

*Edited* I accidentally pasted the wrong worded one

Now you will feel no rain,

for each of you will be shelter for the other.

Now you will feel no cold,

for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there will be no loneliness,

for each of you will be companion to the other.

Now you are two persons,

but there is only one life before you.

May beauty surround you both in the

journey ahead and through all the years,

May happiness be your companion and

your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and

remind yourselves often of what brought you together.

Give the highest priority to the tenderness,

gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.

When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship,

as they threaten all relationships at one time or another,

remember to focus on what is right between you,

not only the part which seems wrong.

In this way, you can ride out the storms when

clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that

even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.

And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your

life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.

View Quoted Comment Wow, you definitely have me rethinking our readings... beautiful!

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Thank you! I think everyone at the ceremony really like it too.

We are doing Robert Fulghum’s Union. It was just perfect!

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Love this, it will def be on my short list!