"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.
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
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
I want to know if you can live with
failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
“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
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."
© Oriah Mountain Dreamer from the book "The Invitation"
a reminder to be true to myself, to my dreams, to my art...
