The Inner Beauty of Swans

Did you know that swans mate for life?

Somewhere along the way, they find their other half, they mate and they stay together till death do them part.

I bet the person that wrote the standard wedding vows got inspired by swans.

Maybe the inventor got his idea one quiet afternoon, while sitting by a lake nursing a heartache-induced hangover.

His spirit was numb and all he wanted to do was keep drinking to forget anything ever happened. But then he remembered that alcohol isn’t miraculous and the only thing it’s good for is to remind you that whoever said, “One more drink won’t hurt” was dead wrong.

Then, out of nowhere, as if it were a scene out of a Shakespeare play, a swan appeared from the theatrical mist.

The man was surprisingly stunned. He had seen plenty of them before, but this one looked a little too majestic. He was confused: was he experiencing a pretty smooth trip or was that swan just too beautiful for human eyes to handle?

He was unsure.

And while he kept staring at the graceful creature, one thought came to mind: someone had once told him that swans are monogamous animals; they mate for life and they can even pass away from broken heart if their other half dies before them.

He was jealous. But then he got angry. Why couldn’t he have that? He longed for that kind of love. He was a nice man, he deserved it!

Everyone deserved it!

And so he came up with an idea. Since he was an aspiring minister and was a humanitarian at heart, he decided to make standard vows for soon-to-be-weds to declare their eternal love.

“If they say it out loud, their bond will never break”, he thought.

Too bad people aren’t swans.

Pretty soon his hangover wore off, the swan was gone and so was his optimism.

He dedicated his life to abstinence and only open his heart for food.

The end.

Not sure where all that came from. I just wanted to share a photo I took in Hong Kong some time ago.

I like swans. Do you?