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 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 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, 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 is 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 at 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 centre
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.