Poem for Tuesday

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 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 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 ectasy 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 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.

--------

Thanks Kris for the correct title to the above.

Hourglass In The Sand
How much time does Saddam Hussein have? A compilation of Bush administration views:

"Time is running out."
Secretary of State Colin Powell, Jan. 27

"Time is running out."
Dan Bartlett, White House communications director, Jan. 26

"Time is running out."
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Jan. 26

"Time is running out."
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, Jan. 24

"Time is running out."
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Jan. 23

"Time is running out."
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Jan. 23

"Time is running out."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, Jan. 23

"Time is running out."
President Bush, Jan. 21

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

points out that you can now buy Sean Bean's underwear and support cancer research at the same time. The autograph is a little smudgy so maybe they've been worn! Various people have sent me links to a pirated Asian copy of The Two Towers with hilarious captions!

The New York Times has an interesting, sad article about architectural plans for Ground Zero.

I have no idea how this happened:


Which New Romantic Icon Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

My kids had no school yesterday so I had what is known as a "low-key" day (which around here means going out for bagels with my mother, doing some necessary shopping chores like tracking down shampoo -- I'm allergic to so many that this always requires a trip to The Cosmetic Center or someplace like that -- doing laundry, trying frantically to get some work done, etc. I was in a terrible mood but , and saved me (I have no doubt that would have done so as well if she had instant message capabilities -- we need to get her AIM ASAP). Today my kids are off again so we are all going out to lunch again, then getting together with friends. I wish it were warm enough to go to the park for some significant period of time.