The Invitation...

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 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 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 everyday.

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 love.

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.

this poem is by oriah mountain dreamer and is one of my absolute all time favorites, and always worth a repeat performance. I just wanted to let you guys know, that if you loved that poem, "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, you can read excerpts from that book as well, and/or check out some of her other works from this Google Books online, by clicking here.
Better than Google Books, she has a great website, and in here you can read poems and excerpts from her books. It is a wonderful site, so if you'd like to know more about this author, click here.