I've been devoting all of my creative energy into finishing off my
second journal of Spain and launching into my third and therefore
haven't had the appropriate time to devote to blogging. Hopefully I'll
soon find time to formulate my thoughts and summarize my reflections.
In the meantime I wanted to post one of my favorite poems here (which
many may have read on my Myspace over the past year). Over my past 7
weeks here in Spain I've been amazed at how quickly relationships are
formed amongst people who were recently strangers. The unnecessary
small talk is skipped in favor of discussing family dynamics, life
philosophies and that which sustains us when all else falls away. Of
course there is the occasional conversation about guys we've recently
met or the variability of the weather but more often than not I find my
day wonderfully lacking in petty small talk and overflowing with
conversations that leave me thinking late into the night. All of this
leaves me wondering, how will I manage to return to the states in 5
weeks and resume asking the same usual questions of others: How is your
job, Are you going back to school, Are you dating anyone...blah blah
blah. I only hope that no one will look at me strange when I
immediately launch into the topic of what motivated them to get out of
bed this morning, immediately following our "hellos." I hope you enjoy
the following poem as much as I do!
The Invitation (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 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
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 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.
