It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

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 dream,

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, 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 or
fade it or fix it.



I want to know if you can be
with joy, mine 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,
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; 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's not pretty,

every day, and if you can
source your own life from its presence.



I want to know if you can
live with failure, yours and mine,

and still stand on the edge
of the lake and shout to the silver 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
to feed the children.



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 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.