Wedding Anniversary

Ultimately, the reason why love and compassion bring the greatest happiness is simply that our nature cherishes them above all else. The need for love lies at the very foundation of human existence.

It results from the profound interdependence of all we share with one another. However skilful and capable an individual may be, left alone, he or she will not survive. However vigorous and independent one may feel during the most prosperous periods of life, when one is sick or very young or very old, one must depend on the support of others.

Inter-dependence, of course, is a fundamental law of nature. Even the most subtle level of material phenomena is governed by inter-dependence. All phenomena, from the planet we inhabit to the oceans, clouds, forests and flowers that surround us, arise in dependence upon subtle patterns of energy. Without their proper interaction, they dissolve and decay.

It is because our own human existence is so dependent on the help of others that our need for love lies at the very foundation of our existence.

Our Need for Love ? The Dalai Lama (abridged from Compassion and the Individual, 1991)

The above was read at our wedding.

See here for wedding photo's!!