Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Oriah Mountain Dreamer - the invitation



  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 centre 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
        to be realistic
        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.
        If you can be faithless
        and therefore trustworthy.

        I want to know if you can see Beauty
        even when it is not pretty
        every day.
        And if you can source your own life
        from its presence.

        I want to know if you can live with failure
        yours and mine
        and still stand at 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 the night of grief and despair
        weary and bruised to the bone
        and do what needs to be done
        to feed 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 centre 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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