
The Invitation
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 dreams,
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 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 a
human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're 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 the 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 a 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 the 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 are, 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."
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