[pct-l] An Invitation

["Chris Bailey" <hikertrash@earthlink.net>]

Apropos of some recent sentiments on the list, I pass along:

The Invitation 
by Oriah/Mountain Dreamer, Native American Elder, May 1994 

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 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 the pain, mine or your own, without
moving to hide it or fake 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're 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 every day,
and if you can source your life from its presence. I want to know if you
can live with failure, yours and mine , and still stand on the edge of a
lake and shout to the silver of the full moons. "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 to know who you are, 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. 

* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

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