The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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 or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine your own:
if you can dance with the wildness and let the ecstasy
fill you to the finger and toes without cautioning us
to be careful, be realistic, or 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 others 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 the beauty even when it
is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life
from Its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure,
yours and mine, and still stand on 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 for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are,
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.

I just started reading her book, The Dance....
I like what I've read so far and "The Invitation" has got to be one of my favorite poems. It's yummy and real.