rain flowing down my window

sitting here at my desk, listening to rhythmically sensual sound of stanley turrentine and his band.
the rains comes down, in streams or trickles but constant - typical weather for the northwest this time of year. i wonder why no one told us when we signed up for satellite service for the internet that rain and clouds may (will!) interrupt our service... for pete's sake, we live in the northwest, i think that's kind of an important detail to omit. we would have gotten it away probably, i don't ever want to go back to dial-up.

this poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer touched my heart this morning, and i wanted to share it with you all.



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. 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
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 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 on 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
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.