The Invitation....a powerful poem

The Invitation By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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, be realistic, or 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.
I want to know if you can be faithless 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 its 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 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 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.

it's funny how....

It's funny how decisions we make in our past can resurface only to cause or raise questions from another party. It's those same decisions we make in our past that we never think will impact us in the future, unless, it's a life changing decision, but then we all know how those end up impacting us.

It's funny how names and faces and people from our past can resurface only to make our lives either better, more enjoyable, more meaningful simply because we knew them when and now we know them now. Or it's those names, faces, people from our past who can resurface only to cause pain, heartache, anxiety, and defeat.

It's funny how we can go almost a decade without so much as a thought about a person from our past but when we come in contact with that person again it's like that person never changed or left.

It's funny how someone with so much potential and their life can just let it go to waste just like that.

It's funny how someone we care so little about can be the person who hurts us the most. It's that same person that brought us so much joy at one point in our life and then just turns around and brings so much pain.

It's funny how relationships work. It's even more funny how relationships work between a man and a woman when children are involved. Once what was getting all dressed up and all primped to hit the clubs as a means to break the ice and get to know each other is replaced with dressing up in a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt and going to the grocery store on a Friday night.

It's funny how quickly friendships change and, for some, fade. Once what was a close friend who we trusted is now nothing more than an acquaintance of whom we see on a not-so-regular basis.

It's funny how easy it is to sit here and write exactly what we feel but when we are asked close, personal, or even intimate questions the answer always seems to be "I don't know." No, I do know. I know the answer to what I look for in a guy. I know the answer to what I want out of life. So, when it is verbalized can I not get the answer out?

It's funny how I try to blog on a regular basis but I still have shared it with only a few people. I'm not ashamed of what I write. I'm not embarrassed by what I write. So why can't I just share this with even more people?

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me by E. E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

I absolutely fell in love with this poem after watching a movie several years ago where Cameron Diaz read this at her sister's wedding. It was such a moving part of the movie that it almost brought me to tears. Actually, it did bring me to tears.

Poetry, for some people, is difficult to read and takes the reader nowhere. As a teacher, I see this all the time with students who don't like poetry simply because they "don't get it." What's not to get? Poetry has its own special message for each person who reads it. That, to me, is the beauty of poetry. If the reader cannot grasp even a small fraction of the message the poet is trying to convey then the beauty and true message is missed. I once had a teacher who said there is no right way to interpret a poem, it can mean so many different things, it's just how the reader interprets it. However, the problem with that is is that so many people need a black and white answer and leave no room for individual interpretation or any gray. I have kids who need to me to tell them exactly what the poem is saying in order for them to understand, giving them the metaphors and the symbolism and all the small pieces that makes the poem so appealing. To me, that takes away the beauty of reading poetry and connecting with poetry. If I have to tell you what it means then you have completely missed the boat. Let the poem speak to you. Feel the poem. 

I love this poem for the simple message the poet is conveying. No, I am not going to sit here and tell you what I think the poem says or means, because like I said, it must be the duty of the reader to interpret the poem and apply it however deems fitting. Read it. What does it say to you? 

Everything happens for a reason....

I found this on the Internet yesterday and completely agree 100% with what it says. It's those things in life that seem difficult at the time that end up paying huge dividends in the end. What may seem difficult at the time turns out to be a true blessing and happened for a reason. Even those horrible experiences were placed before us for a reason - to teach us how to adapt, to change, to grow, to deal, to learn. Life is a learning experience. I am still learning. I think once a person stops learning then life has no more meaning or significance. Whether it's learning about another person, learning about ourselves, or learning in general, life is about that.

Writing is my escape. I am not the best with words so when I can find a poem, a song, a card that says exactly what I am feeling or needing to say then that will be what I use to express those feelings. I wish I could take credit for writing the poem, but I think as I read and reread it I identify with it more and more.

People are brought into our lives to teach us about not only them but about us as well. We can grow from knowing that person. He or she can teach us something about ourselves that we didn't know even existed. Those people can push us to become a better person.

So here's the poem. Life happens. Life goes on whether we are ready for not. If we are not prepared then we will miss out. I don't want to miss out on what life has to offer me. I know there is something wonderful in store for me. Patience is something that I struggle with, however.

Everything Happens for a Reason

Sometimes people come into your life
and you know right away that they were meant to be there,
they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson
or help figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be;
your roommate, your neighbor, professor, long lost friend, lover
or even a complete stranger who, when you lock eyes with them,
you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you
and at the time they seem horrible, painful and unfair,
but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles
you would never have realized your potential, strength, will power of heart.

Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments or true greatness and sheer stupidity
all occur to test the limits of the soul.

Without these small tests,
if they be events, illnesses or relationships,
life would be like a smooth paved, straight, flat road to nowhere.
Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life and successes and downfalls you experience,
they are the ones who create who you are.
Even the bad experience can be learned from...
Those lessons are the hardest and probably the most important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart...
forgive them,
for they have helped you learn about trust
and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you,
love them back unconditionally,
not only because they love you,
but because they are teaching you to love
and opening your heart and eyes to things
you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment
and take from it everything that you possibly can,
for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people you have never talked to before,
and actually listen,
let yourself fall in love,
break free and set your sights high.

You can make of your life anything you wish.
Create your own life and then go out and live it.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

Why settle?

I really enjoy when people look to me as an example for how to live single and relationship free and be completely fine with it. This strikes me as funny. I don't know why though. Could it be that I have not been in ONE serious relationship in the last eight years? Could it be that I haven't been on ONE real date in the last eight years? Who knows, but it still makes me laugh. Relationships are a tricky thing, especially when you have a child involved. Children change everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. No more making those spur of the moment decisions to go out or leave town on a whim. No more going to the bar every night looking for a man of the moment. No more decisions made just for me. Now, by all means that is not everything that changes, but those are a few that are acceptable to mention. Anyways, I have never been one to be in one relationship after another. I have never been one that always needs a guy by my side to make me complete or feel loved and secure. I think even before my daughter came along I wasn't this type of person. I don't understand those people who say they must have a boyfriend or they will just die and cannot go a week without having a boyfriend. In and out of relationships is not that healthy, honestly. Do those girls really know who they are? Do those girls really know what they want? Do those girls really know the meaning of single? It took me a long time to really figure out who I am and what I want out of life and especially in a relationship with another human being. So that is why it was so easy for me to live the past eight years single, independent, and content. I have grown into a better person, a stronger person, and at times, a more cynical person. Yes, that comes with the territory of seeing friends around me living a life in a long term relationship with kids or getting married. But I know who I am and what I want. Now don't get me wrong, there were times when I longed for someone to be there with me and to help me through raising a child, but if I would have given in to that I would have been settling. No one deserves to settle for something less than what they want. I don't plan on settling. If it's written in the stars that I am supposed to spend the rest of my life single, raising my child, and grow old and be known as the "old cat lady" then that's fine. But I don't think that is what God has planned for me. I really do think there is something or someone out there waiting to give me what I deserve. Everyone wants the fairy tale ending where we live happily ever after. I would rather be happy, know who I am, know what I want, than settle for someone that will not make me happy for the rest of my life. I don't ask for a lot in a relationship, but I do want to be happy. And for once in a long time, I can finally say that I am happy. I have my life in order and together and now it's time to let someone else in to add that missing piece of the puzzle.