An Invitation

So, I find little glimmers of light in various areas of my life. Occasionally, I come across literary works that I find great appreciation in...
If you have never had the chance to read Oriah Mountain Dreamer's "The Invitation", you should. There are so many sections of this piece that ring profoundly in my life at different times. I am going to include a couple of sections here in the next few paragraphs...

"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 ecstacy fill you to the tips of your toes, without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, to remember the limitations of being Human."

~I love what this says. Regardless of what emotion you or someone else are feeling, you have to be willing to let yourself FEEL whatever emotion comes to you. Not to hide it. Not to relish in it. Just break all boundaries, all human boundaries and live fully, feel fully, and not shy away from the hard times. Do not shy away from living every moment to its fullest.

"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 adventures of being alive."

~ I want to know, regardless of age, that you are willing love, to take that chance to leap and trust that the net will follow. I want to know that you are willing to walk to the edge of the ledge, take a deep breath and make a huge choice to take a risk on love or to follow your dreams. So many times, people just shy away from taking a chance on experiencing love or struggling to meet the goals they have set in thier life. And at the slightest sign of hurt or uncomfortable moments, you shy away and sulk back into the darkness. WHY?
Garth Brooks said it best when he sings from the song, 'The Dance", by stating, 'Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance"
SO PROFOUND!!

"It does not 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."

~AMAZING. Are you willing to stand right in the middle of the chaos, in the middle of the ring, and take all that is coming at us and be strong enough to not shrink back into the darkness?
I do not care who you know. So many times we try to name drop to impress, to show we are somehow better than others. We uncomfortably try to hold our own or make ourselves to be something we are not, and for what? Why would you? Knowing full well, that you are gonna go running the minute the heat turns up. I wanna know if you will stand right there and take it all in and show your strength and perseverance.

Thank you, Oriah Mountain Dreamer, for this wonderful piece of poetry. It speaks to me differently every time I reread it. I find new nuggets of knowledge, new glimmers of light, new fireworks of "ah ha" moments that I cannot ignore.