Fw: excerpt from[NDhighlights] Tuesday, August 3, 2002

[Guest guest]

I liked this so much, I had to post it here.

 

> forwarded to ndshighlights by kheyala

> (who gave birth to a healthy baby boy - Zachary - yesterday)

> Congratulations to the parents and welcome Zachary!

>

> Posted by Dave on the Spiritual Friends list (Tuesday):

>

> The Invitation

>

> 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 the dreams, for the adventures

> of being alive.

>

> I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if

> you have been opened by life's betrayals ... or if you 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, be realistic or

> 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 bare 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 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 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 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.

>

> Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder

 

....now, what was the middle thing again?

 

( couldn't resist) )))) Shawn