So, this is my new favorite poem... I hope you find it as thought-provoking and inspirational as I do. It's going on my wall... along with my favorite quote by Edward Everet Hale "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. I will NOT refuse to do the something that I can do."
The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Canadian Teacher and Author
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 own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled 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 itor 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
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.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
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.
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 a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed 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.
For me the major thing that is missing is our relationship with God... but then again He's the answer to what sustains us from the inside, the one who keeps us company in the empty moments, why life boils down to these most important feelings and questions and not all the superficial day to day stuff.
Let me know what you think!
KK
Love this! While I was reading, it reminded me a bit of Isaiah 58, starting in v6 and also Isaiah 61; those passages always speak to me so much about God enabling (and expecting) his people to be alongside the brokenhearted and downtrodden and yet to exult in the joy he provides...which can be SUCH a challenge. Also, I thought back to a grief counseling seminar I was a part of, where the instructor pointed out that Americans often have a really hard time just sitting with people in their sorrow. I like how this poem recognizes that ability as a strength! Great stuff, Kate.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I have to sit with this one for a while. I really like it because of how it makes you think and how it cuts to the quick. It's real.
ReplyDeleteKatie, the first verse, 'It doesn't matter what you do,' reminds me of a conversation with one of the son's of a resident @ where I work; He was a lawyer from a wealthy prominent family. He told me that when people who do not know him, ask him what he does for a living, that he changes his profession to something like a truck driver to see if they view or treat him differently. Do people judge you on what you do? Yes, and often this is done. Makes you think doesn't it...
ReplyDeletesi q significa eso x q lo escrivistes?
ReplyDeleteGrand'ma says, "the poem is really soul searching and thought provoking!"
ReplyDeleteI like this a lot.
ReplyDelete