The Invitation

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.

Daring is the main word in this passage, because not daring to live fully is a denial of living at all. Have you touched your deepest hunger, and found the courage to stay with it and not let yourself get consumed by it?

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.

Living fully means getting past our ego, past what others might think of us, and truly being ourselves.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

It doesn’t work to deflect attention away from yourself by pointing to other people, external conditions, or even faraway objects. We each are the summation of the endless number of choices we make each and every day. Putting the responsibility for our choices onto others is another way of saying we’re not willing to take the risk of facing our fears.

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.

Presence – your deep presence. Do you have any idea how healing that is? You’re so much more powerful than you think.

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.

One of the most universal fears is stepping into your own blazing light. No, this isn’t about feeding your ego by lauding your inner greatness. It’s about simply and fully experiencing that greatness and uniqueness. See what Marianne Williamson has answered to the question: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

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.

As Shakespeare wrote, “to thine own self be true,” being who you are means that you may not get approval from someone else at some point. Are you living for approval from others or are you living fully as yourself?

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

Can you look deeply and see the amazing miracle of simply being alive, and notice with wonder?

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

Failure is inevitable, as is success. Simply walking means falling down at some point. What matters is getting up – again and again.

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.

Sitting in your vault counting your baubles is a sign of being caught up in what’s external. Getting beyond your own stuff and nourishing others is much more powerful, as tough as it might be at times.

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 centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

We’ve all arrived here from different directions. This is now – the moment we’ve been waiting for! Will you live this moment with me now, and fully?

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.

All the teachers and gurus and workshops and teachings are wonderful and we can share gratitude for all they’ve done to get us to where we are today. Who we truly are, though, is not them.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Love yourself, and we can all join you in celebrating the glory and wonder of who you are!

For the original poem and the amazing book, see Oriah Mountain Dreamer at http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/