A Message From 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.

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 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, to 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.

(奧瑞亞山居夢者，印地安長老；加拿大女作家)

　　我對你的職業不感興趣。我想知道你的渴望，你是否能勇敢依循內心的憧憬，大膽的作夢。

　　我對你的年齡不感興趣。我想知道你是否會願意冒險，為愛，為夢想，為體驗生命，即使看起來像個傻子。

　　我對什麼影響你的情緒不感興趣。我想知道你是否曾觸及內心憂傷的核心，你是否已從生命中的背叛恢復，願意敞開心靈；或因此而蜷縮封閉，深怕再受傷害。我想知道你是否可以正視痛苦，與它共處，我的或你自己的，而不需任何躲藏、淡化、偽裝、或修飾。我想知道你是否能與喜悅共處，我的或你自己的。你是否能與狂野共舞，讓狂喜浸淫你全身，穿透每個指尖，不再心存戒慎恐懼，不再要求實際務實，忘記身為人的限制。

　　我對你所告訴我的事是否真實不感興趣。我想知道，你是否能為忠於自己而讓他人失望；是否能背負他人對你背叛的指控，但求不背叛自己的靈魂；你是否能拋卻信仰，而仍值得信任。我想知道每一天，你是否能在不美之處看見美麗，你是否能成為自己生命的源頭。我想知道，你是否能與失敗共存，你的和我的，而且仍然願意站在湖邊，向天上銀色的圓月高喊，「是的，我絕不放棄。」

　　我對你住在哪裡，有多少錢並不感興趣。我想知道，在經過了整夜的哀傷沮喪，身心疲憊到了極點，你是否仍能起身，為了孩子，盡你該盡的養家活口的責任。

　　我對你認識誰，或你如何來到這裡不感興趣。我想知道，你是否會與我一起，站在火的中央而不退縮。

　　我對你在哪裡，學什麼，和誰學不感興趣。我想知道，當一切煙消霧散，是什麼在你內心支撐著你。我想知道，你是否能與自己獨處，你是否真的喜歡在你空虛時陪伴你的同伴。