Part of the wedding involved giving a shout out for those who would get married after us: Beau and Ashley and then James and Sarah. Unfortunately, James was not able to attend the wedding as he was in Berlin. But he is also part of the circle.
We had several readings.
Anthony read something inspired by Henry Miller’s Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch:
The many avid readers of the Quetzalicow blog might recognize the title, and the story of the book itself is also a part of its meaning. Kirsten and Kendall bought the book in San Frfancisco on the Spring Break road trip, then read it in Mexico last summer. Kendall read most of the book sitting on a small, lovely beach with soft white sand and gentle blue water, which sounds like a perfect depiction of Miller’s talk about paradise. Everyone raved about how beautiful the beaches were, and Kendall and Kirsten were so excited to get there. Once they did, however, they found out that paradise was more than a little complicated by beach-front vendors, heat, hungry mosquitoes, and (mostly imaginary) scorpions. The trip back to the mountains was swift, and Miller’s thoughts about how hard it can be to enjoy paradise were right on.
Most of us put a lot of time and energy into things like finding a dream job, creating the perfect family, or meeting the one person right for us, but Miller reminds us that living in paradise can be harder than finding it. It is far too easy to let insecurity or mistrust goad us into finding flaws even with the really good things in life. Accepting happiness requires growth. We choose to stay in paradise—and in love—by focusing on the here and now. Paradise doesn’t mean perfection. Instead, it means accepting love and friendship as the gifts they are and giving generously and honestly of oneself in return. Each of you here has shared important pieces of the stories that bring Kendall and Kirsten together today. We thank you for being so many of the good parts of our lives.
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