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 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 faithful 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 life from its presence.
 
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or 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 a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and still do what needs to be done for the children.
 
It doesn't interest me who you are, 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.

A Way of Life

This message remains meaningful, especially in these times of hardship and uncertain futures for many:

There was a wonderful article written in 2003 entitled, "All For The Best", by Hans Wilhelm, who also has a book by the same title.  It tells a lovely fable about an old carpet weaver from Persia who when faced with the ups and downs of life never wavered but always affirmed, regardless of how tragic,

"It's all for the best". 

This story has probably been told in many countries with different scenarios in various languages but the ultimate premise is about being able to 'recognize the best' in whatever is occurring, regardless of the 'looks-as-ifs'.

 In other words, even if it seems that the bottom has dropped out from under you or the world as you know it has fallen apart, trust that there is a reason for everything and that God/The Universe/Creator, together with your divine self, has it all under control.