It's been a little while since we featured a ceremony reading, and for our first one back, we've found something pretty special.
The Invitation by Canadian poet Oriah, is a passionate, powerful and thought-provoking piece of writing.
This is the kind of ceremony reading that will stop your guests in their tracks, really make them think, and maybe even draw a few tears.
Photo by Peachy Photography via Bridal Musings
I first stumbled upon this reading in an article by a women who said this poem saved her marriage.
She had never been into poetry before, but came across this when she and her husband were going through a rough patch, and it put everything into perspective for them, and brought them closer together.
It now hangs in their home as a reminder of why they stuck together.
If you're looking for a ceremony reading with real meaning, this might be The One…
The Invitation by Oriah
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals, or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness, and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live, or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Photo by Tomasz Wagner Photography via Bridal Musings
Isn't it just beautiful? It gives me goosebumps every time.
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Oh and Fun Fact: Beyonce actually Instagrammed the words to The Invitation a few weeks back. We're sooo on the same wavelength, Bey.
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