A poem which was recited by Paul H. one of our participants in the Multiple Sclerosis Group.

There is a young boy within us
which we would exclude from the pitiless
surfaces of the mirrors which life would hold up to us

'Grow up' which is what time would say to us.
The brow furrows, the mouth sets, the eyes which were made
for the reflection of first love have a hole in the centre
through which we may look down into the abyss of meaning,

and yet there is the crying within of the young boy who has fallen
and will not pick himself up knowing there is nobody to run to.

Mark O'Brian

Mark was a poet, journalist and inspirational voice in the movement of disabled people to lead independent lives. Visit Mark's web site for more information on his life and works:
www.pacificnews.org/marko/obrien-obituary.html

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 centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened
by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled 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 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 does not 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 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.

From the Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Success

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to learn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

R.W. Emerson