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 risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dream, 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, to 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's not
pretty every day, 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 sliver 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, [or your elderly parents, your spouse, or a
dying loved one].
It doesn't matter to me who you know or how you came
to be here. I want to know if you will stand at the center
of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or with whom you have
studied, [what your title is, or "spiritual" status]. 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 - is Love].
Original Title - "The Invitation"
[brackets mine]
~
Photo - 5 baby raccoons:)
The Mama is on the other side of the fence
coaxing them over...
early June 2020