An Invitation

I came across The Invitation a year or two ago and just rediscovered it once again while looking through some old documents in my computer. I think it's pretty amazing and hope you will too. More Oriah to come soon.

"In The Invitation, bestselling author Oriah wrote about what we long for. In The Dance, she taught us to embrace who we are in the moment, to learn to join the dance of life. Now, in The Call, Oriah shows us how to discover our unique place in the world. The call cannot be found in the expectations of others or in the outside world; it can only be found within ourselves.""

The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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.

About Oriah