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 been touched by the center of your sorrow, if you have been opened
by its betrayels 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 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 or 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 how much money you have. I want
to know if you can get up after a 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 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. I want to know if you
can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like
the company you keep in the empty moments.
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