 |
Contributed by Avon
It Doesn't Interest Me...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, a Native American Elder.
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what
you ache for, and if you dare 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 the 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 sorrow, if you have been
opened up by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled 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 wildness and let 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 are telling me is true. I
want to know if you can betray 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's not a pretty
day, and if you can source your life from God's presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and
stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver light of a 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 a night of grief and
despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done
for the children.
It doesn't matter 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.
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. |
