I Want to Know
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 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 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 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.
你以什么为生我不感兴趣。我想知道的是你因什么而痛苦，想知道你是否敢于去梦想满足心灵的渴望。
你的年龄我不感兴趣。我想知道的是你是否甘当傻瓜去追求爱、追求梦想和经历生活的惊险刺激。
是什么磨圆了你的棱角我不感兴趣。我想知道的是你是否触碰过自己受伤的心，是否因为生活辜负过你而变得豁达，还是因为害怕遭受更多的痛苦而变得无助、紧闭心扉。
我想知道你是否能痛苦着我的痛苦而不是避开它，躲着它。
我想知道你是否能欢乐着我的欢乐，是否能狂舞一曲，让快乐溢满你的指尖和脚趾，而不是告诫我们：要小心翼翼、要现实、要牢记做人的局限。
你说的是真是假我不感兴趣。我想知道的是你是否为了忠实于自己而敢于令他人失望，是否敢于承担背叛的骂名而不愿违背良心，是否能做到诚实可靠从而值得信赖。
我想知道你是否能领略美，是否因为生命的存在而追溯生命的起源，我想知道你是否愿意接受你我的失败并仍然敢于站在湖边，对着银色的满月大声回答“是”。
你栖身何处、有多少金钱我不感兴趣。我想知道的是一夜伤心和绝望、一身疲惫和伤痕之后，你是否照样起床，履行应尽的义务，养育待哺的孩子。
你有何背景、何以成为现在的你我不感兴趣。我想知道的是你是否愿意与我一道，站在烈火中央而不退缩。
你在哪里受的教育，学的什么以及与谁为师我不感兴趣。我想知道的是一切消逝之后是什么在内心支撑着你，你是否能够独自面对自己，是否真正喜欢你在空虚的时刻结交的伙伴。
