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The Web address of this article is https://sfhelp.org/gwc/help/inspirations07.htm
 

  The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dream (a Native American Elder)

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 now 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.
If 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!

If 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, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're 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.

I want to know if you can be faithful - and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day,
And if you can source your life from God's presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
And still stand on the edge of a lake
And shout to the silver of the full moon, Yes!

It doesn't interest me to now where you live or how much money you have.
I want to now 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 are, 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.

The People In Our Lives

     People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do. When someone is in your life for a reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it's now time to move on. 

When people come into your life for a season, it is because 
your turn has come to share, grow or learn. 
They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.

They may teach you something you have never done. 
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But only for a season.

Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons; 
those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. 
I know why you are in my life and I love you for that reason ...

In the end the we can only be happy with the memories 
we created during our lives, for while we exist, change is inevitable.

- Anonymous

The Dalai Lama's Millennium Message 

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
 

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Updated April 30, 2013