Cutting Across Board

The world did hear the wedding bells

Only two heard the marriage vows

The celebrations and jubilation have come and gone

What is left are the connubial cords to hold on to

For the journey into marriage to begin.

Marriage is not a place to come and go as one pleases

It is an abode you enter and must never leave

It isn’t a cage where souls are imprisoned

It is shelter soul mates run into and are saved.

Single friends or foes may entice you to go astray

Decline their offers and go your own way

No one says the ride will ever be rosy

With patience, you can stand even when the road seems foggy

Like a chimera

The right “he” is a myth

The perfect “she” doesn’t exist either

But with understanding and trust

Together, both can overcome any weather.

For the lass:

Family should come first.

Don’t see him as one who will make you smile

Let him be your smile

Don’t see him as one who will take away your anguish

Let him be your joy and sunshine

And though you may sometimes feel dejected and weak,

Make him your friend and your hero when in need.

For the lad:

Family should come first.

Don’t see her as a rival or a punching bag

That you may vent your anger and bitterness.

Make her your one true treasure

And take not her feelings for granted.

Love with your soul and not your mouth,

Embrace with your heart and not your arms,

See with your mind and not your eyes

She could be sometimes be annoying,

Hence, try overlooking trivial things.

Never take advantage of her fallibility and feebleness

But be willing to encourage her through every step of the way.

She will always need someone to hear her out

Be there to listen and watch as she pours out her heart.

No matter what may come between you both

Work it out together and let the past with its pains slide.

Marriage is a lifetime journey

You can never prepare enough for.

Although, God didn’t choose her for you

Although, your parents didn’t tell him “I do”

Both should search within for everything they never had

And just right there in the eyes of one another,

Are the very things both will ever really need.

It will never be like fairy tales

Where you both live happily ever after

The tides of torment and terror will surely surface

But suffice with the love you both hold and share.

Marriage is to be enjoyed, not endured

It is not where you always receive

Nor an avenue to display a high level of deceit

It is sacrificial sanctuary, demanding you to offer something and everything.

For the unmarried and searching:

It is OK to set a standard for that one special person to meet

But because no one really is perfect

Let not the bar be so high that no one can attain.

Always open your heart to love

And let the little insults not get the best of you.

We all are in search of love and someone to love

And when that special person comes along

Don’t say “I do” because of…

Think it through thoroughly

And say “Yes” even in spite of…

For the single parent:

Let go of the past pains and burdens

And enjoy your life in its totality.

Though finding another love may be based on probability

Finding true happiness is always a possibility,

When you are free minded, embracing your reality

And savoring each moment of your life with gratitude.

You might have failed to work it out together,

It is not peculiar to you alone, it happens everywhere

And it goes to show how fallible we can be

But at the back of your mind,

Don’t give up on living for those you cherish the most.

Even when that man or woman really hurt you so,

See no reason to hate or prejudice another.

Life goes on and on and on

For all to live, love and laugh

And sometimes, we cry and get burnt in the process

But it is never the end.

Life is a test

Sometimes, you fail

Sometimes, you pass

And regardless of your circumstances and predicaments,

Opportunities abound when you choose to play along

But the intrinsic truth many are yet to discover is that

To be fulfilled and to have lived a purposeful life

You can’t afford to be a failure for the rest of your life.

Life is about relationship

And family is everything.

All there is to life is to live

And to live, you must love

And to love …

Just be happy if you can and when you can

If you must, fake it

And in time, it will be it.

Marriage may be more than I have pictured it,

Ultimately, it is what you make out of it that matters.

It all starts from unconditional friendship

Involving forgiveness, acceptance and undiluted trust

And the more you both make it remain as friendship,

The longer it tends to last.