The Invitation (I Want To Know)

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 centre of your own sorrow

if you have been opened by life's betrayals

or have become shrivelled 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

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

If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

 

I want to know if you can see beauty

even when it is 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 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 a 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 centre 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