"The Invitation"
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder

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 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 and 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, to 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 trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even
when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or 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, 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 is ...
_Confessions of a Spiritual Thrillseeker :
_Medicine Teachings from the Grandmothers, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
_Published by Moonfox Press
_Publication date: October 1991