As an unending circle, the wedding ring is
an immediately recognizable universal symbol of eternal love, fidelity
and devotion and publicly signifies the expressed and implied
commitments of two people to one another in the institution of
marriage.
Although a wedding ring can be composed of
or forged from many different materials, frequently, it is made of
different “karats” of gold which, in its purest form, is twenty-four
karats (24k). However, pure gold is too soft to endure the life of most
marriages.
Interestingly, in order to permanently
strengthen a pure 24k gold ring, another impure metal (or several
metals) are added resulting in an alloy being formed. The ironic and
paradoxical “marriage” of that which is pure with that which is impure
typically will result in a wedding ring with the characterological
hardiness to last indefinitely.
The moral is clear: however untainted love
may be in the beginning, for it to continue evermore, it must find a way
to navigate and integrate “the good, the bad and the ugly” of that which
is pure with that which is impure into its very core, soul and fiber of
its being.
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