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The
Invitation
From
the Book, 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 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 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 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, 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 faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can
see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your
life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours
or mine, and still stand on the edge of a 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 for the children.
It
doesn't interest me 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
From Dreams of Desire, 1995 by Oriah House. All Rights Reserved.
Published by Mountain Dreaming
300 Coxwell Avenue
Box 22546
Toronto, Ontario Canada M4L 2A0
Oriah's book, The Invitation can be found at Harper Collins Publishers.
Search by Author for Oriah.
Message
from Oriah Mountain Dreamer
While
I am pleased that this piece, The Invitation, has spoken to many others
and happy that it is being shared, I would ask that you honour the
original by sharing it as it was written.
I am a teacher and writer living in Toronto with my two teenage sons.
While my family history includes stories of Scottish, German and Native
American descent I am a Canadian woman, and not an Indian elder as has
sometimes been reported, being neither old enough nor wise enough to claim
the status of elder for any people. I have had the privilege of studying
with and learning from the wisdom of Native American elders who gave me
the medicine name, Mountain Dreamer. My first book, Confessions of a
Spiritual Thrillseeker, is currently out of print. I am now working on a
book entitled The Invitation, expanding on the thoughts and teachings held
within this smaller piece. Dreams of Desire is a small collection of
poetry available only through Mountain Dreaming.
Oriah
Mountain Dreamer
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