Poem Title: The Invitation
Author: Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Source: 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 hearts 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 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.