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maverick_weirdoI truely appreciate advice and feedback. Even stuff I don't agree with, or that I am not ready to hear, lets me know that people care enough to share their opinion/feelings/experiences.
I have now reached the point where people are recommending books. So far I have had recommended to me Neale Donald Walsh on Relationships by Neale Donald Walsh & The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. I'm typically not much for "self-help" books, but I may look into those once I finish the one that has been waiting for me 2 years now.
It is The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
I was in a "New Age" shop with my wife, trying to find something to read while my wife was looking at every single item in the store. (O.K. I'll admit I'm not the most patient of shoppers. My idea of "shopping" in a store like this is quickly scan the shelves to see what catches my eye. If nothing catches my eye then move on. If it is meant to be, then it will draw my attention, like the moonstones. My wife on the other hand, if nothing catches her eye, will methodically search the shelf item by item to make sure she hasn't missed anything.)
So I was looking through the book section, when The Invitation caught my eye. It is a series of meditations based on a poem by the same name.
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.
I was very impressed with the poem, and even more impressed by the real and pratical writing style of the author. The meditations are meant to help people live more thoughtfully, more intimately with themselves, others, and the world. I read the first couple of meditations, then chickened out. The author mentions a couple of times that living more fully brings changes into our lives, and we cannot control what those changes may be. I though about what "living more fully" might be like, then I though about what I had to lose. My biggest fear was that by changing the way I live my life, I might alienate my wife, and I did not want to lose her. So I put the book down.
I cannot say if continuing the book two years ago might have saved my marriage, or ended it sooner, or made no difference at all.
Today I completed the third meditation.
I have now reached the point where people are recommending books. So far I have had recommended to me Neale Donald Walsh on Relationships by Neale Donald Walsh & The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. I'm typically not much for "self-help" books, but I may look into those once I finish the one that has been waiting for me 2 years now.
It is The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
I was in a "New Age" shop with my wife, trying to find something to read while my wife was looking at every single item in the store. (O.K. I'll admit I'm not the most patient of shoppers. My idea of "shopping" in a store like this is quickly scan the shelves to see what catches my eye. If nothing catches my eye then move on. If it is meant to be, then it will draw my attention, like the moonstones. My wife on the other hand, if nothing catches her eye, will methodically search the shelf item by item to make sure she hasn't missed anything.)
So I was looking through the book section, when The Invitation caught my eye. It is a series of meditations based on a poem by the same name.
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.
I was very impressed with the poem, and even more impressed by the real and pratical writing style of the author. The meditations are meant to help people live more thoughtfully, more intimately with themselves, others, and the world. I read the first couple of meditations, then chickened out. The author mentions a couple of times that living more fully brings changes into our lives, and we cannot control what those changes may be. I though about what "living more fully" might be like, then I though about what I had to lose. My biggest fear was that by changing the way I live my life, I might alienate my wife, and I did not want to lose her. So I put the book down.
I cannot say if continuing the book two years ago might have saved my marriage, or ended it sooner, or made no difference at all.
Today I completed the third meditation.
