The Invitation
by Oriah
from, The Invitation
Gaia, Grayson Queen, http://graysonqueen.wordpress.com/
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 centre 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 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
to 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 at 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
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 centre 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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Everything in my athenaeum category or tag is here for safekeeping and my personal referencing. Many of the authors/artists have passed away, and some are still alive and kickin’, but all would benefit from you purchasing the full compendiums of their work, or prints, or CDs. Each of these pieces were exceptionally inspirational to me–some for obvious reasons, and some because of the right-time-right-place-situation. If you decide to repost, please keep the author attribution in tact!
athenaeum: noun: a place where reading materials are available for the promotion of learning.
Wow.
I know.
I read this for the first time when I was 15, and every time I’ve read it since, it doesn’t get any less “wow”. 
I love this – it is raw, compelling and challenging, especially the end:
‘I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.’!
Isnt it great? I’ve updated the post so her name “Oriah” links to her current blog over at Blogspot… she’s a very compelling author!
http://www.oriahsinvitation.blogspot.com/
*athenaeum* What a great idea, i need to get me one of them STAT!
Yes, do it! It’s actually one of the main reasons I started the blog… so I could have a place to “hold onto” the gems I stumble upon. It’s so peaceful.
Of course, there’s a few authors out there who have passed their rights to institutes who prohibit their re-posting… like e.e.cummings and Albert Einstein. But most people are pretty great about it!
I will!! I have some collections I always refer back to. How will I know its prohibited? I’d hate to squash authors toes
Excellent, thanks so much for that!!!
If only everyone had such honourable intentions and seeking the ‘inner’ person as much as they know the ‘outer’ really loved this Rara
Amazing!
Wow….for the piece, but also because I just found a file of mine with some of my old poems (which I’ve been hunting for) and this poem was one of the things I found I had printed out…. goes back to my Ishmael days in the 90′s. It had been posted by one of the Ishmael followers. Talk about syncronicity
The piece must be calling to the world!
Yay! Great minds… 
It must be…freaks me out abit
….and than it turns up on ShamanTube from FB today too. It is just too weird that it has turned up now 3 times….2x today and that I have a printed copy of it I found from way back when she first wrote it. I checked out her website….she lives in Ontario, Toronto I think. Grew up in SW Ontario.
It’s a sign!
Of what, I don’t know, but I’m hoping it’s a sign that 2013 is really feeling the message and will be a year of looking at the truth of people instead of the glitter. 
I’m with Paula. This piece is calling. Thank you for reminding us, Rara. I also love the Gaia painting by Dave. I will think about this next time I am hugging a tree.
haha, I guess I should have edited the photo a bit… or warned people. I never remember to consider the “rating” of art, haha, as well.
No one complained so I guess it’s alright. 
I’m glad you enjoyed the piece!!
Hmm .. somehow, “athenaeum” sounds SO much more cool than “dusty room full of boxes of books”……
Reblogged this on ELANA – The Voice of the Future.
This, was right on time! But then again, you got that Intuu thing going on.
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I LOVE this piece. It is all the things that I ask of myself; and the testing point for my greatest friendships over the years. Honest, earnest and beautiful in its simplicity.