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It doesnt 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 doesnt interest me how old you are.I want to know if you will risk looking a fool for love,for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesnt 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 ectasy 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 doesnt 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 bare the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul,if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when its not pretty,everyday, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with falure,yours and mine, and still stand on the egde of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon,"Yes!"
It doesnt 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 done to feed the children.
It doesnt interest me to know 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 doesnt 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.
----------Oriah Mountain Dreamer,Indian Elder