The Life We Want to Live
I would like to start by sharing a quote from John Muir, “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” This is the wish we will hold in our hearts for Anna and Carl as they wed each other today.
We are here, in the House of the Sun, to witness and celebrate the marriage of Anna and Carl. They have chosen this place because it resonates with sacred beginnings, an undersea mountain giving rise to an island filled with life. And while this day marks the beginning of their marriage, we also come together to acknowledge and strengthen a sacred bond that already exists between Anna and Carl. This ceremony is an affirmation of that bond and as their close friends it is our honor and privilege to stand witness to this event.
Franz Shubert once said, “Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.” It is a joy to spend time with Anna and Carl because you can see at once they are not only a couple but also each other’s truest friend. From running marathons to simply cooking dinner, it is clear that Anna and Carl enjoy each other’s company immensely. They are an inspiration to each other. And why wouldn’t they be? They are both exceptional human beings. Intelligent, inquisitive, thoughtful, caring, playful, and filled with a love of nature and life.
Not all marriages start with such a rich substrate. With two strong, confident, and complete individuals, each so worth knowing in their own right. Even more rare, is that Anna and Carl recognize and truly appreciate the special person they have found in each other. They treat each other with tender, earnest respect that comes from a place of deep love and mutual admiration. Anna and Carl hold each other in the highest regard and you can see it not only in the life choices they make but also in the little moments throughout the day- a subtle brush of fingertips, a hand on the small of the back, a shared gaze across the room. They are the most important people to each other, and witnessing their love brings a smile to everyone around them.
Carl and Anna were engaged here in this crater, and as they were hiking out to Palikū, right over there they considered this thought:
“Just past Kapalaoa cabin we noticed a section of trail weaving across the crater floor, traveling around cinder cones and through tufts of grass and silver-swords. Here the single-track gives way to double- , as the crater floor widens into a flat, occasionally reuniting for a spell. It seems like a metaphor. Other animals create a single track. It’s more efficient. Why cut a trail twice to the same place? Humans create double-tracks. We walk side-by-side whenever possible. We walk. We talk. We watch. We learn. This should be our marriage: walking side-by-side through a crater as the world is being molded and formed and expanded around us; being awestruck by the enormity of the universe radiating above us; seeking to find what is over the next rise, around the next ridge, across the next chasm; finding a meadow to rest in before our next adventure; and feeling the warmth of that human standing beside us every step of the way.”
This is the theme Anna and Carl will perpetuate through their marriage; helping each other live the lives they want to live.
Our Mission Statement
I love you and I’m excited to share my life with you. I stand here a whole person with my own identity, path, and goals, and choose to intersect my path with yours.
For all the joy and excitement we will have in our lives, I know there will be hard times. Let us lean into each other during life’s challenges, supporting each other and allowing ourselves to be supported in love and patience. Sometimes you lift me up, sometimes you challenge me, sometimes you hold me close when that is what I need. Let us be each other’s support: bringing things into reach and into perspective.
Let us not only care for and support each other, but foster each other’s goals, dreams, aspirations, and frivolity. Let us balance each other, providing support through the unbalanced times. With each other’s support, let us continuously grow into the people we want to be, living the lives we want to live. Let us respect our differences and let our differences complement each other.
Let us encourage each other’s dreams, inspire growth, and challenge stagnation. Let each of us embolden the other to take risks, learn, and thrive. When I am with you, far-away dreams are within reach. When we talk, complex ideas come into focus.
Let us truly experience life, wringing from our limited time all the adventure, joy, and beauty we can from the world around us. Let us respect our bodies, our minds, and our health, to fuel our future adventures.
Let us have fun; sharing adventures, experiencing contrast, and seeing everything we can. Life is ultimately a series of choices of how we spend our time. I choose to spend my time with you. Adventures and exploration are made better by your presence. You magnify me.
We know each other deeply, and in that knowledge lives love and respect. I can be my whole self with you, trusting that you will always interpret actions as intended.
Trust and respect are nurtured by communication. Let us ask each other’s opinions, share our own, and always work to reach a common ground. Let us listen and make every effort to understand. Let us speak and endeavor to make our meaning clear.
And from time to time, let us rest, preparing ourselves for our next adventure. I can rest with you.
Let us lay together in life’s meadows while we heal and reenergize.
We walked to this spot together. When we met, we were both walking our own paths. But slowly, and not so slowly, our paths began to intersect, then follow each other for a ways, and finally on some undefined morning or afternoon, our paths merged comfortably into one path with two tracks, side by side.
We walked here today to officially declare that the path ahead is ours to walk together. We blaze this trail as we walk it. We create maps and plan destinations and waypoints, then enjoy the walk together through all the serendipitous detours and sidetracks.
Rings
These rings are a symbol of unending love. Their elements were forged in stars, annealed in the earth, and made of atoms present since the dawn of the universe.
Closing
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 a companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there are three lives before you: his life, her life, and your life together.
Go now into your dwelling place to enter into your days together.
and may all your days be good and long upon the earth.
I now pronounce you husband and wife. When you’re done kissing you may rejoin us.