I Want to Know

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, 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 sorrow.
If you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have you become shriveled and closed from the fear of future pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain; 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.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithful and, therefore, be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see the beauty even when it is not present everyday,
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 for 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 truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.