An Invitation to live life fully~

Life is not a straight road to some final place.  Life is full of twists and turns and unexpected moments.  And everyday we are invited to live life to the fullest. We are invited to embrace each day and all it brings with both arms. And even when it is difficult to show up and face the world, we find the courage and strength in our own hearts to do so.

I don't think that I would be where I am today without my practice to support me in times when I need it most.  I am not just talking about running through the poses.  I am talking about the way in which we choose to live our life moment to moment, breath by breath.  And sometimes,  when the heart is heavy and the mind is cluttered,  taking a deep breath can be difficult.  But breathing in each moment, which is a practice,  is the best thing we can do for ourselves.  

Bare and vulnerable is not such a bad place to be.  In fact,  it is the real place to be.

Respond to the invitation to Live.  Even if it is difficult today,  tomorrow will be better.

This poem bears repeating...
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 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.
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, book cover
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.
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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