The Invitation.
I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land in which I write this diary entry, and pay my respects to the Elders both past and present. The land that I am currently on, is and always will be Aboriginal land.
I thought it was only fitting to start my first diary entry off with an excerpt from my favourite poem. This poem, although my favourite before I started SW, is so relevant to the work I do now and the amazing clients I have the pleasure of interacting with.
The Invitation By Oriah Mountain Dreamer
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 doesnt 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 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
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.
This poem resonates with all of the limitations within me, that I grew up with, and that society filled me with. About who I could and couldn’t be. About what was right and what was wrong. These limitations that, as I have gotten older, have slowly began to drift away. Drift away into unknown spaces of my being, allowing other more meaningful ideas to fill the forefront of my soul. Let your soul free, dance in unconventional places, laugh at yourself, and most importantly receive everyday as a chance to grow, and every moment as a chance to feel alive.
Sex work has allowed more limitations to drift into those unknown spaces, they are not gone, they are simply memories. These memories and spaces must not be forgotten, but eternally remembered as memories, that have allowed me to grow and flourish. Just like a rose.
Lana Rose xx
