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 been shriveled
and closed from the 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
ecstacy 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 tell 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 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' 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 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.............................................

from The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer