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

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! 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, 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 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

everyday, and if you can source your life on the edge of

the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon.

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 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 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"