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 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 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
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 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 keeping the empty moments


(Oriah Mountain Dreamer)