The Invitation

[tonbo]

There was a discussion going on in the General MA forum about what "warrior spirit" was. I stated that I thought this piece summed it up pretty nicely, and said I would post it here for everyone to read. I like it quite a bit, and hope you guys find it interesting as well.

THE INVITATION

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 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 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 hid it or fake 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 accusations 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's not pretty every day, and if you can be at ease in your 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 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 to know who you are 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.

--Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder


Give it some thought, and let me know what you think.....

Peace--

 

[progressivetactics]

HOW
deep.

 

[Turner]

The Invitation

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.

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer - not an Indian Elder

I enjoyed the poem and the little alterations made to the poem by various people, but I figured that I'd offer the unedited version.

I think that the last line really speaks of what it means to be a warrior. How are you in the empty moments? I know so many people that do their best to never spend a moment of their life alone to themselves because it leaves them to their thoughts and they realize they don't like the company that they keep. I don't think that anyone being can or should sit in the silence and be comfortable. The only difference between the warrior and the non-warrior is that the warrior finds the time to sit in the silence so that s/he can discover what needs to be worked on and how to work towards realizing his/her fulled potential. The measure of a warrior is that s/he can be greater than what s/he currently is. Honor, Loyalty, Integrity and Discipline (Character) are all byproducts of this realization just as confidence, self esteem, physical conditioning is a byproduct of learning self defense. It isn't necessarily the goal. It is the added bonus.