The Mountain Dreamer - A Challenge

It doesn’t interest me if you are good looking. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself and if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not hurt another. I want to know if you can be faithful and trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty - even when it’s not a good day, and if you can endure great hardship and can still abide in 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 wildly and ecstatically 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 those in need.

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 fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else has fallen away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep.

From Oriah Mountain Dreamer