pat loughery

I was reading a book today on the plane – A Pilgrim Way: New Celtic Monasticism for Everyday People (yeah, that’s the kind of stuff I read on airplanes these days ;-)) – and saw a little story that I was really impressed with. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend and fellow student in Dunblane, Scotland. This friend has lived through shocking tragedy, and the I was deeply impacted by the depth of what she’s experienced and how she’s survived.

The story she told reminded me of the terrible grief I felt when my dad passed away unexpectedly, and how I drifted for several years. Thanks to God, she’s survived better than I did then, but we each have our journey.

It also reminded me of many conversations I’ve had with my mom, who’s been a powerful example of true, authentic trust in God in the midst of despair. I’m going to post this quote for both of these strong women.

“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, to 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’s 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 the 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.”

– Oriah Mountain Dreamer, from the book The Invitation published by HarperSanFrancisco, 1999