The Rudolf Steiner Archive

86. Speech at the Wedding of Mieta Waller and Scott Pyle

My dear fellow revelers!

[ 1 ] We are celebrating a festival that all the friends gathered here feel deeply, and they deeply appreciate the festive fellowship with their dear relatives—Mieta Waller’s mother and Mieta Waller’s other relatives. I am not speaking here merely on behalf of the anthroposophical friends gathered here; I speak these words at this festive moment as one who has been bound in heartfelt friendship to both of the individuals who are taking their first steps today on their shared path of life.

My dear guests, Mieta Waller is joining Scott Pyle in a shared life’s journey, and I would like to offer my heartfelt blessings and best wishes here today, for our dear friend Mieta Waller has been a member of our household for seventeen years. Just over seventeen years ago, she formed a close friendship with Dr. Steiner, who would truly have loved to be here today if she hadn’t been prevented by urgent obligations. She would have been delighted to take part in this truly heartfelt celebration today. A bond that has lasted so long truly allows us to speak from a purely human perspective.

[ 2 ] The heartfelt way in which our dear friend Mieta Waller bonded with Dr. Steiner—becoming ever closer to her—was, because of the unwavering loyalty expressed in this relationship, something I could only view with the greatest goodwill and the deepest inner satisfaction. That is what comes to mind above all else at this very moment. And so you will understand, my dear friends and relatives of our dear friend Mieta Waller, that in a certain sense it may reflect a deep feeling that Mieta Waller will now walk her life’s path together with our beloved friend Scott Pyle, that she—I would like to say, since I believe this—is not stepping out of her relationship with Dr. Steiner, but rather by adding new steps to the old path as she now embarks on this significant phase of her life. And I think the warmth associated with all that we have experienced together over the past seventeen years—this warmth—can flow as a blessing upon the future path of our beloved friend.

[ 3 ] I would like to say: It is out of warm love that we follow this path in life. And just as what our friend Mieta Waller has embodied over the past seventeen years—her loyalty to our cause and to so much that is beautiful in humanity—has proven itself, so too, I may say, has our dear friend Scott Pyle won over our hearts and those of many close to us during the shorter time he was with us. In fact, we can say that even before any thought or idea had been voiced regarding the intention that Mieta Waller and Scott Pyle would walk a shared path in life, we had already loved Scott Pyle with that very love which we believe we can now bestow upon him as a kind of wedding gift—now that he continues to unite himself with that which we can give him only out of the deepest love. And we have come to know our dear friend—to know his beautiful, genuine, self-sacrificing heart, his radiant kindness, and his love for humanity. We have come to realize how it is actually impossible for anyone who knows our dear friend Scott Pyle not to love him. It seems downright impossible to us. And that is why we understand it best—I would say—precisely because of what we have just come to know about Scott Pyle in such a beautiful and fulfilling way: that Mieta Waller has given him all her love. And quite obviously, those who loved Mieta Waller—and who loved Scott Pyle—will continue to cherish that love even under these new circumstances.

[ 4 ] The two of them came before me after they had decided to join their lives together, and spoke of how they intended to dedicate this shared journey to a spiritual mission for the salvation of humanity. It was a beautiful, moving, and deeply satisfying moment, for those who look more deeply into the interconnections of life know how that which is united in love can, in a sense, be illuminated in the most glorious way through a shared mission that binds hearts and senses together.

[ 5 ] And so, my dear fellow celebrants, what was approaching—I would say, approaching at that time with festive grace—for, after all, this word may be used in that more beautiful sense in which it was formerly used in the German language—as it approached with festive grace, with beautiful grace—that was connected at that time, and the phrase “beautiful grace” may also be used by our dear friend Scott Pyle—he, too, spoke back then with truly beautiful grace when he spoke of the connection between a great humanitarian task and the bond of marriage. This was accompanied by the most sacred seriousness. And from that moment on, I was always able to look forward to the impending conclusion of this lifelong bond with the deepest joy and the deepest satisfaction.

[ 6 ] I think I can safely say that, if blessings can bear fruit, a beautiful treasure of loving attention to your life’s journey has developed in the time since you, my dear friends, were with me in my studio back then and first shared your intentions with me. I know that this has also been the case—in the most heartfelt way—for very, very many others: for Dr. Steiner, for many others, including figures such as our friend Ita Wegman, for many others who are so close to Scott Pyle, for our friend Günter Wachsmuth, and for many, many others. And that’s just the way it is in life: where there are faithful, well-meaning hearts, even if countless obstacles and hindrances stand in the way, the path must be surmountable.

[ 7 ] And so, please accept our warmest farewells and best wishes for your journey! May they carry you forward, and may they be illuminated by those thoughts that draw their inspiration from the beautiful, loving, compassionate, and self-sacrificing spirit that you have shown us over so many years, through such a long time. May what you have shown us there shine upon you once more and radiate anew from all the hearts that, in this hour, wish to lovingly accompany with their thoughts what you intend to undertake together for life.