Rajee and Dave's wedding (and what it means to all of us).

I grew up with an intense dislike for weddings by the time I was 16 years old.

Wait, I take that back. I grew up hating wedding RECEPTIONS...I never had anything against the weddings themselves.

You gotta understand...I was a busboy in a catering hall for two years during high school. I've been to more weddings than many priests have been to!

And I saw things that went on in the kitchen that...well, for those of you having or planning a wedding in the future...no need to go any further.

But Diane and I went to one that was one of the nicest, sweetest experiences we've had in a long time. It was a woman I had trained in counseling and her best friend Dave. They tied the knot last night.

A few things different about this wedding than others I had attended. For one thing, Rajee's (the bride) famly was from India. She was born and raised in the U.S., but her family very much kept their Indian identity.

Dave is garden variety American. So there's a wonderful mix of cultures who honor and respect one another.

Figs and hummus at the cocktail hour, along with the usual wedding choices.

(The fruit didn't look familiar, but I knew they were figs because they tasted like Fig Newton cookies.)

Women in Indian ceremonial gowns of magenta, purple, yellow, blue...doing the "Electric Slide" on the dance floor.

The women...absolutely beautiful. If I'm guilty of having a prejudice in this article, it's that Indian women are among the most fascinating, captivating, mysterious creatures to walk the planet.

And last night Rajee was their queen.

There were some other things too that were wonderful. The hall has only been opened for a couple of months...long enough time to get the bugs out of a new place, but still young enough so that everything...and everyone is fresh, magical, exciting.

The Justice of the Peace reminded us of one of those really good motivational speakers you'd see on a PBS special. She was funny, touching, full of love.

As with the best weddings, Diane and I held hands and imagined our own, now 15 years in the past.

Also, neither of us I knew another soul at the wedding, other than Rajee. It was a great opportunity to put aside any sense of embarrassment we might have had around people who were familiar with us...and be ourselves.

Thus we were the first ones out of the dance floor for the slow songs...and Diane was one of the first to do the "Electric Slide" (at the request of the Father of the Bride.)

But hands down...the coolest part of the evening was being a able to write out a generous check for their wedding gift.

I was happy and honored to attend. Rajee spent 100 hours with me last semester. I was the only person there who was part of her world of getting a masters degree in counseling.

She didn't have to invite me...she WANTED to invite me.

And I wanted to attend. She was a wonderful student and a beautiful person.

And truth be told...only a short while ago I either wouldn't have had the money to write the check I wrote, or would have been consumed with anxiety about letting go of that much money.

I'm a better man now...not because we've got the money. We all know people with lots of money who aren't worth very much.

I'm better because the lack of money doesn't rule who I am. It doesn't govern the way I think and the choices I make.

Diane and I are both better people because we've become generous with what we have...knowing that we have the ability to make more anytime we want to or have to.

It's one of the greatest benefits of anyone who is working correctly in a home business.

It's the best benefit....you get to become whomever you want. You don't even have to go to a wedding of friends you're meeting for the first time!

Raise your glass to Rajee and Dave! May their love and spirit inspire us all!