INVITATION

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for.
and if you dare do 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 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 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 hear 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 God's presence.


I want to know if you can live
with failure, yours and mine.
and still stand on the edge of the 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,
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 can truly like the company
you keep in the empty moments.