~Mountain Dreamer Speaks~

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
dream, 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 pain,
mine or 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, 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 faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want
to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty
everyday, and if you can source your life on the edge of
the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon.
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 interest me who you know 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.
[Oriah, Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder]