"The Invitation"

I found this little ditty while cleaning out my desk today. I got it at some presentation in college. I guess I liked it because I have kept it for 10 years!

The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer (a Native American Elder)

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 adventures 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 becoming shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain, 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, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're 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 faithful

And therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty

Even when it is not pretty every day,

And if you can source your life from God'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 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, 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.