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 shriveled 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.
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (A Native American Elder)
