Things happen so fast in this city that it’s easier than you think to lose track of your life. Away for the weekend to see a friend get married in Boston it seemed like just yesterday that I met her in college when life was easier and slower and no one was worrying about things like planning for the future and where to start a family.
But time flies faster than the Fung Wah hurdling down the Mass Pike, and before you know it you’re dressed up in outfit one of two as Maid of Honor for the most interesting and long (3 hour ceremony!) Indian wedding you could ever have imagined. After two days of ceremonies and henna tattoos and stress leading up to the big day, it finally arrived and almost 400 people gathered to watch the street procession of the groom around the block before he was carried in where his feet were washed, and then watched again as the bride was carried to the altar in a basket filled with rice and fruit (bananas, coconut and...?) where there was a lot of throwing of rice and flowers and chanting of words I couldn’t understand for a few hours. As I sat there and watched her, this close friend I met so long ago (seems like yesterday) officially get married (from what I could gather) between the lighting of fires and dripping of oils, I felt time and my life getting away from me faster than ever.
I was panic stricken of course, (but tried not to show it), when my name was called and the spot light was on me and I walked slowly to the stage and up the stairs and reached out to take the microphone to talk to these almost 400 people about something I don’t know much of anything about but keep having to talk about at weddings: love. As I began to speak, I realized looking out over the shadows of people illuminated by the light, that days and weeks and years pass so quickly that when it comes to finding out how we’re meant to spend the rest of our lives I figure you’ve got to have some of the best luck in the world working on your side
I didn’t mention that of course, because I think it’s a good rule to stay away from using words like “good luck,” when giving a speech at a wedding. But I don’t think we should lie to ourselves about the rarity of finding what might be the most coveted thing in the world, more than money, more than success, more than a rent controlled apartment in the West Village. So I was glad to see they’d found It, and walking back to my table I realized how much we take love for granted and how we might already have It (once you have It, never let it go), or the hope that one day we will.
Hope. That’s a good word to use in a speech at a wedding. Hope for the best. Hope for the future. Hope for a long and happy life together full of all the great and wonderful things love has to offer.
Hope.
Hope.
Hope.
I suppose you could do a lot worse than live your life on the hope of love (better odds hitting the lottery!) - but for now I’m okay with just having to talk about it to people at weddings, and pretending every time I get up there that I have any idea what it’s all about.
Cheers.
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