This is so worth re-printing…. Enjoy ~
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 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 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.
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 bear 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 a lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or own much money you
have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief
and despair, weary and bruised 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.
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
I’ve always thought The Invitation was a beautiful poem. You’ve made it even more so with the addition of the images.
Left by Robin on April 2nd, 2007
I love the insight it gives you. It proves that there is more to life than just the things we have or do. Even in our mixed up daily routines we forget what really matters. The loved ones, our children, cooking dinner, cathing up on our days at the dinner table with out watching TV, or even a txt message, phone call, email, or even a sent postcard to say I’m thinking about you today. The question that still remains is what really matters?
Lately I have been watching over a three year old child and she is a handful at times but there is never day I go with out expecting her face at the door. There is never a day that I don’t cherish her hugs and kisses or her singing in the tub. Even a cry or a mistake she still matters to me. Why is it that each day we go with out thinking about the ones we love? Because nobody can stop to think what really matters.
Left by Moley on April 2nd, 2007
Hi LaRonda,
With pride, I want to tell you that I was delighted to find Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s THE INVITATION poem on your blog…..however, I want to make the correction– I don’t believe she is an “Indian Elder.” One friend loaned her INVITATION book to me and I am half way through it. There is no reference to her native roots although if you think about it we ALL have come from the past (lives) where everything was native and unadulterated.
I do understand your points that her poem may seem inspired like a native person or perhaps her sentiments have given way that she may have posed as a native person.
I’m open to your feedback/comments….in the meantime, have a great day.
Goddess bless.
Sioux Bear
Left by Sioux Bear on April 6th, 2007
Hi Sioux Bear.
Thank you for sharing this. How funny. I found the Invitation poem online with the words Indian Elder underneath it and posted it as I saw it. I loved the poem so much I went out and bought the book! I just finished it!
Oriah Mountain Dreamer is definitely not an Indian Elder, even though she is as wise as one. She has agreed to let her publishers drop the “Mountain Dreamer” part of her name in hopes that her books will reach a larger audiance. I have removed those incorrect “Indian Elder” words from this post. I appreciate you drawing my attention to it.
I liked her first book so much I went out and both The Dance and The Call and What We Ache For — all by Oriah. I am reading The Dance now. I consider myself a student of hers for the time being.
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on April 6th, 2007
Hi Sioux Bear.
Thank you for sharing this. How funny. I found the Invitation poem online with the words Indian Elder underneath it and posted it as I saw it. I loved the poem so much I went out and bought the book! I just finished it!
Oriah Mountain Dreamer is definitely not an Indian Elder, even though she is as wise as one. She has agreed to let her publishers drop the “Mountain Dreamer” part of her name in hopes that her books will reach a larger audiance. I have removed those incorrect “Indian Elder” words from this post. I appreciate you drawing my attention to it.
I liked her first book so much I went out and both The Dance and The Call and What We Ache For — all by Oriah. I am reading The Dance now. All of Oriah’s books can be found on my side bar to the right.
I consider myself a student of hers for the time being.
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on April 6th, 2007