I WANT.............
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, 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 disappoint 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 is not pretty everyday,
and if you can source your life on the edge of the lake and shout to the
silver of the full moon.
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 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.
Oriah, Mountain Dreamer, Indian
Elder