The Labyrinth of Marriage
Sunday, 30 November 2008
The party is awesome. The honeymoon is heaven.
Now the start is a bit behind…there is no turning back…
Butterflies flutter in the stomach. The time has come to build her own life (by the side of a lovely spouse), build her own family, no longer planning for one but for two now…
«What if he doesn’t like the way I am an organisation freak? What if I snore? Now I will have to wax my legs every 15 days...and I won’t be able to wear my beat-up knickers any longer – I must remember my mom’s advice...oh God, what if I’m too bossy?»
She continues walking through the labyrinth...slowly...sometimes obstacles come across her way, that only give her even more strength to proceed with the journey – the highlight of this path is when it comes a point when she has to decide whether to go left or right («Which decision will benefit us both?»), and whenever she feels lost or can’t seem to decide, she can always rely on her spouse’s help and, together they make decisions, solve situations...they are a team.
Half way the labyrinth, she looks at her right and realises that from that moment onwards her mind will cease to think & speak in the first person singular; only to begin communicating in the first person plural...
Plural yet singular. They think alike; they sense each other; they know when the other is sick or sad, stressed or worried; even though they speak different languages they have one language in common (that of Love); they share the same dreams, the same ambitions...but not the same workout plan, nor the love for sweets.
They wonder when they’ll reach the end. They turn right then left, then right again...again left...they want to run (so that they reach the centre faster) but their legs won’t let them: it’s like Solomon is reminding them that there is a time for everything...a suitable time.
They sit on the floor and chat. They breathe the fresh air of life and do some yoga. They get up and proceed walking...turn left & right, right & left, right again...they see the centre, they are almost there «That was easy!» they tell each other laughing; yet their legs feel heavier and heavier...their feet won’t move, so they sit. They try to crawl only to move an inch (2,5 cm). They pause and chat.
After a while they get up and walk towards the centre. Once they reach it, there’s a letter right in the middle of it, on a silver platter...he picks it up and hands it to her; she reads it out loud:
“This is not the end. It has only been two months...there are many more labyrinths to go through. There is no turning back. Continue the journey. Good luck & God Bless!”
They actually think of turning back, but then when they look behind, the labyrinth is gone. They look forward and realise that they are on a starting point of whole new labyrinth....
I now invite you to read the Labyrinth of Marriage under the perspective of a man who’s been married for 15 years: LS.
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