"It doesn't interest me what you do for 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 adventures 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,
if you can dance with the wildness and let 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's not pretty everyday,
and if you can source your life from the Divine 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 moon.

"YES!" 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 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."

(Oriah Mt. Dreamer An Indian Elder )

xoxoxoxo