"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you wait 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 for 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 ecstacy 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 if it is not pretty, 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 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 a 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 out 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."

~ Patrick Conner