The Invitation

-It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
-I want to know what you ache for & if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
-It doesn’t interest me in 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 square in your moon, I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow; If you have been opened to life’s betrayals or have you been shriveled and closed down from fear of further pain.
-I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, fade it or fix it.
-I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; If you can dance with the wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic or 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.
-I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.
-I want to know if you can see beauty even if it’s not a pretty day. And if you can source your life from beauty’s 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 a night of despair, worn and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done for the children.
-It doesn’t interest me who you are and how you came to be here; I want to know if you will stand at the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
-It doesn’t matter where or what or with whom you have studied; I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else seems to fall away.
-I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in empty moments.

Written by ORIA MOUNTAIN DREAMER,