<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><div><b>“The Invitation”</b> by Oriah Mountain Dreamer</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't interest me</div><div>what you do for a living.</div><div>I want to know</div><div>what you ache for</div><div>and if you dare to dream</div><div>of meeting your heart's longing.</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't interest me</div><div>how old you are.</div><div>I want to know </div><div>if you will risk </div><div>looking like a fool</div><div>for love</div><div>for your dream</div><div>for the adventure of being alive.</div><div><br></div><div>It doesnt interest me</div><div>what planets are </div><div>squaring your moon...</div><div>I want to know</div><div>if you have touched</div><div>the centre of your own sorrow</div><div>if have been opened</div><div>by life's betrayals</div><div>or have become shrivelled and closed</div><div>from fear of further pain.</div><div><br></div><div>I want to know</div><div>if you can sit with pain</div><div>mine or your own</div><div>without moving to hide it</div><div>or fade it</div><div>or fix it.</div><div><br></div><div>I want to know</div><div>if you can be with joy</div><div>mine or your own</div><div>if you can dance with wildness</div><div>and let the ecstasy fill you </div><div>to the tips of your fingers and toes</div><div>without cautioning us</div><div>to be careful</div><div>to be realistic</div><div>to remember the limitations</div><div>of being human.</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't interest me</div><div>if the story you are telling me</div><div>is true.</div><div>I want to know if you can</div><div>disappoint another</div><div>to be true to yourself.</div><div>If you can bear</div><div>the accusation of betrayal</div><div>and not betray your own soul.</div><div>If you can be faithless</div><div>and therefore trustworthy.</div><div><br></div><div>I want to know if you can see Beauty</div><div>even when it is not pretty</div><div>every day.</div><div>And if you can source your own life</div><div>from its presence.</div><div><br></div><div>I want to know</div><div>if you can live with failure</div><div>yours and mine</div><div>and still stand at the edge of the lake</div><div>and shout to the silver of the full moon,</div><div>"Yes."</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't interest me</div><div>to know where you live</div><div>or how much money you have.</div><div>I want to know if you can get up</div><div>after the night of grief and despair</div><div>weary and bruised to the bone</div><div>and do what needs to be done</div><div>to feed the children.</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't interest me</div><div>who you know</div><div>or how you came to be here.</div><div>I want to know if you will stand</div><div>in the centre of the fire</div><div>with me</div><div>and not shrink back.</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't interest me</div><div>where or what or with whom</div><div>you have studied.</div><div>I want to know </div><div>what sustains you</div><div>from the inside</div><div>when all else falls away.</div><div><br></div><div>I want to know</div><div>if you can be alone </div><div>with yourself</div><div>and if you truly like</div><div>the company you keep</div><div>in the empty moments.</div></div><div><br></div>——————————————-<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div> </div></div><div></div></body></html>