Theos-Talk Archives (December 1999 Message tl00249)

Hi all,

In our local lodge (TS-adyar - adding that just for
balance) we share at holidays texts that have helped us in
our private life. Or that we think important because they
are perhaps helpfull for others. Here is one I got, that I
really found helpfull. I translate from the Dutch and have
no idea as to the book it comes from (but it is so easy to
translate, I think it was translated from the American
English into the Dutch):

>> From Oriah, dreamer from the mountains, wize man from
India:

"The invitation
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you long for and whether you dare dream
to meet your hearts desire.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know whether you will risk looking like a fool
over love, your dreams, the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are in your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the core of your own
sorrow and whether life's betrayals have made you more open
or have made you shrivvel up and close up, from fear of
still more pain. I want to know if with you can sit still
with pain, mine or yours, without hiding, covering up or
fixating it.
I want to know if you can feel joy, mine or yours; whether
you can dance wildly and be filled with extacy upto the
tips of your fingers, without reminding us that we have to
be carefull, or realistic, or reminding us about the
limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me whether the story you tell is true.
I want to know whether you can let another person down by
being loyal to yourself, or whether you can carry the
accusation of betrayal but still not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithfull and therefore also
reliable. I want to know whether you can see the beauty,
even if not every day is pleasant, and whether you can
lavish your life in the presence of that beauty.

I want to know whether you can live with failure, mine or
yours, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout
"yes" towards the silver of the full moon.

It doesn't interest me where you live and howmuch money you
have. I want to know whether you can get up in the morning,
after a night of sorrow and despair, tired and hurt to your
bones, and still do for your children what has to be done.

It doesn't interest me who you are or how you got here. I
want to know if you can stand in the middle of the fire
with me and not be afraid.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you went
to college. I want to know what keeps you standing from
within when all ellse falls away. I want to know if you can
be alone with yourself and whether you really love the
company you have in empty moments."

Hope you enjoy,

merry christmas and a happy new year.

Katinka
----------------------
NHL Leeuwarden
hesse600@tem.nhl.nl