No Title Necessary

You ever just have a random thought in your mind? A simple thought that spirals into something much bigger? It then goes from something big to something you swear is going to be life changing. Im sure most of you have. As for me, that has been sparked by being snowed in for what feels like weeks. I dont have the deep life questions of, "who do I want to be", and "what do i want out of life". I know what I want, and I am comfortable with continuing to learn who I am. I know who I do not want to be. I am more questioning "what kind of people and things do I want to surround myself with"?

I know I want to surround myself with people who are goal-oriented, filled with a passion for life, laugh more than they cry (or cry with laughter), and people who will be there.

I heard this poem in class last Thursday that I had never heard before. It certainetly stirred up a lot of thought. Anyway, here is the poem, I found it here.

The Invitation
by 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 dreamsfor 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 shrivelled and closedfrom 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 tobe careful
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 on 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 a 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 standin the center of the fire
with meand 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 insidewhen 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.

...if that isnt truly an ode to getting real, then I do not know that is. all jokes aside, i love everything about this.