Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Invitation

Thank you Lora for sharing this poem with me...

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 dream
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 centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or 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
to 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 at 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 the 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 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.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Lost Tooth

My little girl lost her second tooth today. And then she lost the lost tooth.

We realized this as I was tucking her into bed. She had taken her tooth from the tiny tooth-shaped container, which was sitting on the coffee table, to play with it. As fate would have it, I vacuumed the living room earlier tonight. So there's a chance the tooth is somewhere inside my Dyson. I guess I won't win Mother of the Year because I did not, at bedtime, offer to sift through the questionable contents of the vacuum cleaner to find the wayward tooth.

She was too tired to care and stuck the empty tooth-shaped container under her pillow. I said I'd leave a note for the tooth fairy to explain.

I'm pretty sure the tooth fairy is cool and will leave a trail of pixie dust and a crisp dollar bill.