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The Invitation

by Oriah

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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 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 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

to feed the children.

 

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.

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