The Enchanting Air Dances A Whispering Tune

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.

I need 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'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 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, 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.

© 1999 Oriah Mountain Dreamer
All Rights Reserved

~ Click the image to read a message from the Author. ~

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