It Doesn't Interest Me

IT DOESN'T INTEREST ME . . .

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

a Native American Elder

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for,

and if you dare 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 the 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 sorrow,

if you have been opened up 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,

if you can dance with wildness and let 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 betray 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's not a pretty 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 stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver light of a 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 matter who you are, 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.