Dear Esteemed Steemers!
I hope to introduce myself in a meaningful way by responding to the poem “The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer:
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"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."
.......I dream of two suns setting in the west. I dream of swimming with the dolphins and I dream of love. I dream of a village of white houses in crystal clear, unpolluted air. I dream of other worlds and cosmic beings. I ache for the stars, I ache for the earth and I am inspired by the mysteries of our beingness within the universe.
"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 adventure of being alive."
......Uhum, blush, well, yes, ……I have not only looked like a fool - I have been a fool.
"It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain."
......I shrivelled stoically - until one day I let it all go, let it wash away with the torrential floods and earthquakes of my being.
"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."
......Yes, I will sit; Quietly or crying, loving or laughing; for your pain, and my pain, is our pain.
"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, remember the limitations of being human."
......Mmmmmm
"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. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy."
"I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence."
......I used to walk around in slouchy old clothes in shades of dark blue and black. Then I began to wear flowing dresses and bright red wellies. Now I see beauty every day.
"I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes’."
......I used to start my sentences with ‘No’. Now I start my sentences with ‘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 to feed the children."
......Yes. My children are thriving and well.
"It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back."
......I walk with the spirit of fire. I am a firewalker.
"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 am sustained by my unbound consciousness looping love to my nowness.
"I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."
......My body sometimes craves company, but my spirit is AllOne.
......My life experiences have brought me back to who I am. I am now finding great joy in guiding others to be who they are. I am privileged to seeing others blossom with the goodness and beauty they were born with. I am blessed with seeing the immense natural forces within others come alive.
Who we are is all that matters.
So this is who I am. Who are you?
Oona Fergusson