Dec 31 - Endings

The end of December.  The end of the year.  The end of a decade.  The end of my 20's.  The end of relationships.  Today is ripe with endings it seems.  But the sadness that might be expected is absent.  Instead there is a feeling of hope and new beginnings.  How ironic that I woke up to a city blanketed in white, as if it too was being given a clean slate too...

The Invitation

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.

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 opeened 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, or to

remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling is true. I want

to know if you can disappoint another and 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 trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty

ever 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

stills tand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the

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 for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, 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 does not interest me where or what or with who 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.

                                                        - Elder Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Happy New Years - wishing you all the best for 2010 and your new beginnings!

Dec 25 - Merry Christmas

Just a short note to say Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all!  

Don't forget to remember those that are worse off - I was on the way to dinner with my grandmother when I was approached by a homeless woman.  I ended up making a pit stop at a grocery store and took her shopping for her Christmas dinner - she said she has recently lost her job and had 2 boys at home to feed - maybe i am gullible but either way for less then $8 she picked ingredients for a pasta dinner to make for her family...

Merry Christmas All and to All a Good Night :-)