The Invitation
by Oriah, Mountain
Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you
ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't
interest me how
old you are.
I want to know
if you will
risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It
doesn't interest
me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know
if you have
touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled
and closed
from fear of further pain!
I want to know
if you can
sit with pain,
mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know
if you can
be with JOY,mine or your own;
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips
of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the
limitations of being human.
It doesn't
interest me if
the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know
if you can
disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know
if you can
be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know
if you can
see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday,
and if you can source your life from its presence.
I want to know
if you can
live with failure, yours and mine
, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of
the full
moon, YES!
It doesn't
interest me to
know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know
if you can
get up after a night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the
children.
It doesn't
interest me who
you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know
if you will
stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't
interest me
where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know
what
sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company
you keep in
the empty
moments.