Sanctity (and Insanity) of Marriage

I made a pit stop at the library to renew “How to Wow” and managed to catch a glimpse of beautiful photos in Reader’s Digest “Four Ways of Looking at a Rope”.

One of them is to look at it as a symbol of marriage.

Off the coast of Futami, Mie Prefecture of Japan lays two rocks – husband and wife rocks named Izanagi and Izanami, representing the primal couple in Japanese traditional history. According to legend, it is from this couple did all the Japanese islands arise. Japanese Shinto priests first wed these two hulking rocks more than 1,300 years ago to symbolize the sanctity of marriage.

Today, husband rock (the strong, silent type at 30 feet high) and wife rock are still yoked together in the Pacific Ocean by 100 feet of sacred rope called Shimenawa – braided rice straws - which is replaced three times a year.

The priests do that at low tide, when the rocks aren't separated by water, and worshippers join in the ceremony by handing the rope from person to person onshore. In the summer, the scene is perhaps most divine: The sun appears to rise between the two points, with Mount Fuji visible in the distance.

The photo is simply mesmerising.

Marriage is sacred to many while some think it’s a ‘medication’ to several life crises. Which is why I put it this way – Sanctity and Insanity of Marriage. Well, look at these quotes!

• Here's to matrimony, the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented! ~ Heinrich Heine (Oh Am Jeeeee : O )


• Many marriages are simply working partnerships between businessmen and housekeepers ~ Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 (Better not devilish Capitalist)


• I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And second, let her have it ~ Lyndon B. Johnson (I love this one)


• How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being ~ Oscar Wilde (If you want one, get a mannequin please)


• Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude that she is remarkable. They are right about this. She is smart, funny and thoroughly charming. Often, after hearing her speak at some function or working with her on a project, people will approach me and say something to the effect of, you know, I think the world of you, Barack, but your wife, wow! ~ Barack Obama (What more can I say? Heaven!)

• My wife has been my closest friend, my closest advisor. And ... she's not somebody who looks to the limelight, or even is wild about me being in politics. And that's a good reality check on me. When I go home, she wants me to be a good father and a good husband. And everything else is secondary to that ~ Barack Obama (I dedicate this one to 1FPM)
• Political promises are much like marriage vows. They are made at the beginning of the relationship between candidate and voter, but are quickly forgotten ~ Dick Gregory (My advice to you gals, be very cautious with politicians :)


• Elections are a good deal like marriages. There's no accounting for anyone's taste. Every time we see a bridegroom we wonder why she ever picked him, and it's the same with public officials ~ Will Rogers (See! I told’ya!)


• All young women begin by believing they can change and reform the men they marry. They can’t ~ George Bernard Shaw (Too bad some people make babies to change each other)


• After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her ~ Mark Twain (How thoughtfully sweet, i think i'm going to cry)


• To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the loving cup, whenever you’re wrong – admit it; whenever you’re right – shut up ~ Ogden Nash (How true!)


• The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together ~ Robert C. Dodds (Precisely! Watch out gals – yes-man is a big NO)


• My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you’ll be happy; if not you’ll become a philosopher ~ Socrates (If not, perhaps, be a blogger :P)


• Getting a dog is like getting married. It teaches you to be less self-centred, to accept sudden, surprising outbursts of affection, and not to be upset by a few scratches on your car ~ Will Stanton (I like this one and I guess I got to station myself at SPCA Jalan Kolam Ayer :P )


• Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight ~ Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966 (Someone says this to me – Fighting is good. Making up is better :)


• Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy ~ François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (Goodness gracious me – so I believe in this, wholeheartedly)


• I never married because there was no need. I have three pets at home, which answer the same purpose as a husband. I have a dog which growls every morning, a parrot, which swears all afternoon, and a cat that comes home late at night ~ Marie Corelli (:P I have 4 cats: Mulan fits the growling dog part, Adam the swearing parrot, Bongo is our midnight Cinderella while Benji never gets enough of me)