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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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