And the church bells chime…

Yes I was right. I heard wedding bells far off in the distance, but Thursday’s dinner confirmed their upcoming arrival. In a matter of hours, we heard, we laughed and hugged, we cried. The first among the whole group of us to announce the beautiful union between a man and wife, the first to smile so joyously, the first to leave as well.

A glance at my diary reminded me that the last we had a heart to heart chat about such issues was 2 months past, and now, a beautiful beaming bride-to-be about to begin her life in another place, as the same yet another woman, with her prince, the love of her life. In little more than a month, we will be seeing her off, till her wedding next year where we will once again reunite, ties unbroken, tears ready to flow at the once-in-a-lifetime ceremony.

It didnt dawn on me the huge significance of her announcement, till our trip to the city the following day, among the goals we had, one of which was to check out wedding bands. WEDDING BANDS. Gosh, walking in Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and Bvlgari was a first. Seeing all the eternity rings and brochures and blindingly blinking rings meant to declare undying love all at once was an even greater first. Throughout our forray into the stores and our very pleasant journey making conversation with the attendants, I was filled with so much excitement for the bride-to-be, all suddenly in full explosion since the build up from Wednesday’s email.

Its the second time this year I had the privilege of having a friend share her happiness with me, and trust me, no matter how divorce rates seem to drag the name of marriage down, nothing can beat the look and glow on their faces– It is their time, their life, and their love.

There is electricity in the air

What a terribly exciting month; so many things have happened in just the span of the last 5 days; the first African-American to have pushed the Americans into a land brimming with the promise on which the hopes of their forefathers banked on; candidacy that was never expeced to run among the leading; least of all to win. Yet all over the world, there has been a sigh of relief; the Asian stock markets abounded with a new life; perhaps there is hope for the economy and world politics at large?

Blame it on my lack of interest in politics in previous US elections, or blame it on my youth; but this isto me definitely a point of history in the making. Never before has globalization bonded continents across in the anticipation of one common outcome, for a country that isn’t even theirs. Africa’s heartbeat can be heard across the news wires; their celelbrations for their much supported representative Obama evident so blatant and stark; bulls reserved specially for feasting upon when Obama would eventually clear the tiles and declare a landslide victory; this was a magic moment; the one which Martin Luther King would have been so proud of he would cry tears of joy; the day of fulfilment of his dream “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” and “that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

There is an excitement in the air; his youthful energy and charisma seems to have charmed voters and observers in the USA as well as across the shining seas. America’s economy may be down in the dumps, and may have chain-dragged everyone else (participants and passers-by) worldwide, but the extent of the ripple effect of this historic elections has proven one thing– that America is still so tremendously important that we are all banking that we made the right decision in supporting a young, inexperienced senator with what currently seems like little more than many theories and assured calmness that he will not only weather through the stormy ride but emerge victorious. In this present time; he is a symbol of hope that many are deep down praying will not be a mirage.

Further away from the political scene, November is also a month where I rejoice for my friends around. I can’t say it till I hear it for myself, but I believe wedding bells will be ringing soon; a joyous occasion is bursting to arrive. There is a spirit of festivity in the air; an electricity to light up the world that just a little while ago seemed stale and depressed. Trust me, the world is currently less preoccupied with crazy christmas shopping that will eventually manifest towards the month’s end; right now, there are more and greater things that are happening, and all I can say is, life is for the living.