The Invitation - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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 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 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 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 G-d'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.
The Invitation - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I got this in an email last year...kind of sums it up for me.....

The other side of my view from the kitchen window

I went for a walk the other day to see how long it would take to get to the flag I see everyday from my kitchen window....so these are the pictures from the Husky....

What a Beautiful Day! Deer

I went for a walk this afternoon and not 100 ft away from our house I came acroos these deers, 4 of them a little on the shy side and I got excited and the camera wasn't zooming...so here are the results....

Edmonton 2005

After my short time at the lodge in the mountains, and working with some wild and crazy kids on their own adventures...I thought wow if their mother's knew what I saw would they freak out LOL
as parents I think it best not to know all the details of what they are up to!

I drove to Edmonton and stayed with my late cousin wife Ollie, my mother phoned her ahead of time and asked if I could stay with here while looking for work with catering companies on the oil rigs...
I had only met her once before about 25 years ago...I was taken in and she told me amazing stories and I was blessed to get to know her and her family and the type of person her husband my late cousin had been...I will cherish my moments with her....

Nam-ta-jah Lodge Bow Lake

I worked at this lodge in the mountains for a few weeks before they closed for a couple of months
I was auditioning for dining room manager......it was great waking up to the majestic mountains each morning I worked the breakfast to lunch shift, I have no trouble waking in the morning.....
I was the oldest one on the property as far as workers went that year LOL...hmmm 47
I had fun while it lasted......on to the next adventure north to Edmonton

Warm day looks like a plan...

Calgary 2005

I stayed with my brother George for a couple of months after leaving Hilton Head, he was living in this condo near the college...this was the view from his balcony, funny that I don't have too many pictures of Calgary.....it's a nice city as cities go to live in......George took me and his new love and her girls to the international fireworks competition they where awesome.......you can see the fire works in the photo gallery......

Joseph with black hair

The "M" Team

This group of girlfriends are my closes confidants and they all start with the letter M....
from left to right MW, MB, MJ, MA, MM
my "M" Team support...
I thought is funny that I don't have too many photo memories of these girls......
the memories I have of them are of sharing spoken moments...reflecting on time past....

Adventure

I like the Myrka picture it reminds me of Indiana Jones the female version...I love that series of movies....like Indy I enjoy a good adventure, well maybe my adventures are not equal in danger as his LOL
I don't seek danger in my adventures; just discovering new things, places a view.....

My first attempt at living in the tropics was checking out an island off the coast of South Carolina...
I could drive there I thought......

I stayed in a great house a block from the beach....I got back on a bicycle after not riding one since my accident in 1991 there, they have some wonderful bike paths thru the Plantations they call the subdivisions they are gated communities surrounding a golf course for the most part.....

after spending 3 weeks on Hilton Head Island in July of '05 I found it wasn't the place for me to settle to...too many complications for living there and extremely humid in the summer.....

Here is the collage of my memories of Hilton Head Island

Westward Ho.....on to Calgary............