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 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, 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 be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it's 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 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 in the middle of 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 keep in the empty moments.
-Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder
Amen.
ReplyDeleteI have carried this poem (and book) with me since I lived in London in 2001. It is amazing and so inspiring...thanks for reminding me of it! Have you read the book that explains each verse as a full chapter? It's incredible!
ReplyDeleteYou and I seem to be inspired by the same things :)
He asks a bit much doesn't he?
ReplyDeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteYou know I didn't know that there was a book... Now I have to go looking for it because I love poem. If you come back to this, let me know the name and I can search more specifically. If not, I will surely run it down. It will just take me longer! Or I might break down and email you....
I didn't know this. It is beautiful! Inspiring! Too often we get caught up in seeking the meaningless within ourselves and others...
ReplyDeleteDivine! Thanks Robin...Incase you haven't noticed I'm having an Edna St. Vincent Millay kind of moment...I definitely want to know more about this Indian Elder!
I have had this on my blog a couple times, I LOVE it. I may post it again soon!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this. I have thought about posting this several times, but haven't done so... So beautiful.
ReplyDelete