Anne and Bayard Russell’s Wedding Speach
The Ascension of Balance
How do you measure your relationship? Do you view upon it like a photograph. Is the lighting to your liking, shadows full of depth, interactions candid? Do you treat it like a climb? Is achievement in summit, drive for difficulty, constant risk vs. assessment?
Mastery is in practice. Coltrane played his scales every night. Stephen King never left his chair. The Beatles are estimated to have played over 10,000 hours before they became great. Zen Buddhists might say to master without mastering, or learn without learning. I doubt they would be totally opposed to a little advice.
Take lessons from Sir Issac Newton. Push him when he won’t budge, block
her when she can’t stop moving. Take thought before acting, as there is always a reaction. She is the sun, you are the planets, this is our universe, follow the axis.
Take lessons from me. Never plan to leave on time, there is no right answer, yes that is a new outfit, and no it is nothing like the other one, keep working, practice is marriage.
What knowledge can be imparted on us from Mr and Mrs. Russell? We’ve known Ann and Bayard longer than we have known each other, and known Anne plus Bayard almost as long as we’ve known our relationship. Do we know them well? We know what we’ve observed.
Start by asking, are you similar or are you different? Have you built a house for the other to make it a home? Have you a gun rack to find it filled at Christmas? Have one of you long curly hair and the other not. Look not into the meaning, just observe. Dream of simple desires and enjoy living simply. Share your family, share your granite, share your felines, and share your grouse.
Never stop learning, never stop practicing, and study the greats. We recommend the laws of “Anne and Bayard Russell”, and their definition of balance.