in the words of 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 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 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 own
much money you
have. I want to know if you can get up after the night
of grief and
despair, weary and bruised 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.
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