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, for your dreams, and 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 own sorrow, and if you have been opened 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, face 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 me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, and if you can bear 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 is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from God’s presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, your and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the sliver 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 for the children.
It doesn't interest me 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.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
To Risk
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out to another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live. Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom. Only a person who risks is free.
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails.
-William Arthur Ward-
Our Deepest Fear
Our Deepest Fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandella
Boldness
Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation,) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
From The Himalayan Expedition
Man in the Arena
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of good deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: who’s face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
The Journey
For this is the journey that men make to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn't matter much what else they find. Money, position, fame, many loves, revenge are all of little consequence and when the tickets are collected at the end of the ride, they are tossed into the bin marked failure.
But, if a man happens to find himself –if he knows what he can be depended upon to do, the limits of his courage, the positions from which he will no longer retreat, the degree to which he can surrender his inner life to some woman, the secret reservoirs of his determination, the extent of his dedication, the depth of his feelings for beauty, his honest and un-postured goals –then he has found a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.
James Michener “The Fires of Spring”
Commitment
When you commit yourself to something you are in effect making a choice. In the act of choosing, you are really buying something, and commitment implies a willingness to pay the price for what you bought. You must fist know what you want before you can choose it. Once you have chosen it however, considerations and justifications are no longer relevant. Choice is nothing more than a creative act of free will and can never be justified… only acted on. Commitment then becomes your declaration to the world that you are going to cause your choice to happen. It anchors choice and puts a motor behind it. Commitment transforms intention-ality into reality. Commitment means that you believe you can be trusted to cause something to happen in the world. Honoring your commitment means giving your word as your self, knowing that the two are synonymous. It means that who you are as a human being is your word and that you will do what you say you will do, no matter what the obstacles.
When you commit and then renege on your commitment, your self-esteem erodes with each occurrence. This is experienced as a break in one’s wholeness, integrity and self-worth. When you commit and follow through, however, you believe in yourself, in your word, in your ability to do what you say. This is by no means easy. There is no scarcity of obstacles to get in your way and stand between you and your intention. Your commitment is what empowers you to transcend the obstacles. A powerful man puts all of his resources behind that which he has chosen. This means no holding back, no waiting to see if something or someone better will come along. It means no more whining or complaining about the obstacles or paying the price for what you have bought. It means being grateful for the gift of free will and opportunity to choose in the first place.
When you are committed to someone or something, there is no more doubt or confusion. Confusion is the antitheses of commitment and of owning one’s power. When you are committed you have direction, focus and purpose. A man finds his authentic freedom through his commitment. The more direction and focus a man has, the less plagued he is by fear, anxiety, indecision, and self-doubt. Providence itself opens up before us when we are living fully within our commitments.
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Things I've Learned
That you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved, the rest is up to them.
That no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
That it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
That it’s not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.
That you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do but to the best you can do.
That it’s not what happens to people that’s important, it’s what they do about what happens.
That you can do something in an instant that will give you or another heartache for life.
That no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
That it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
That it’s a lot easier to react than it is to think.
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
That regardless of how lusty a relationship starts, the passion fades and there better be something real to take its place.
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
That learning to forgive takes practice.
That there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
That just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
That it isn't enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean that they do.
That sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions.
That we don't change friends if we understand that friends change.
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. Sometimes it can change your life forever.
That two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
That no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
That there are many ways of falling and staying in love.
That no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves get farther in life.
That no matter how many friends you have, if you are their pillar you will feel lonely and lost at the times you need them the most.
That people who don't even know you can change your life in a matter of minutes.
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
That the people you care most about in life are taken from you far too soon.
That although the word “love” can have many different meanings, it loses value when overly used.
That it’s hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people’s feelings and standing up for what you believe.
unknown
The True Joy
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for it’s own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me. It is sort of a splendid torch, which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
George Bernard Shaw
"In God We Trust" on money, "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance
(a viewpoint)
