"The Invitation"

by: Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I wrote about this poem yesterday but I just love it so much that I need to share it with the world. Here is the link to the author's website, and since I am a psychology student, my APA style citation is at the bottom.

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 centre 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 ecstasy fill you to the tips of your

fingers and toes

without cautioning us to

be careful

be realistic

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 is not pretty

everyday.

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 at 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

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 centre 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.

Dreamer, O. M. (1999). The Invitation. San Francisco: Harper.