The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer Edited
by Ronny Ray. PhD

Tell me what you do

for a living and more important

I want to know what you ache for

and if you dare to dream of meeting

your heart's longing.

How old you are tells me little because

I want to know if you will risk looking

like a fool

for the love

of your dream and

for the adventure of being alive.

It interest me what planets are

squaring your moon – and more importantly

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 and your own

without moving to hide it

or fake it

or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy

mine and your own

if your can dance with wildness

and let ecstasy fill to the tips of your

fingers and toes

without cautioning us to

be careful and

realistic

to remember the limitations of being human.

It does interest me if the story you

are telling me is true because

I want to know if you can disappoint

another

to be true to yourself

if you can bear the accusation of

betrayal

or if you will betray your own soul,

can be faithless

and therefore un-trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty

even when it's ugly

and if you can source your own life

from being present.

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 interest me where you live and

how much money you have, and

I want to know if you can get up after the

night of grief and despair

weary and bruised to the bone

to feed the children.

It does interest me who you know

or how you came to be here and

I want to know if you will stand tall

in the center of the fire

with me.

It does interest me where or what or

with whom you have studied and

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 like the company you keep

in the empty moments.