Let Me Count The Ways

Last Sunday at the weekly Pipe Circle I attend (Native American peace pipe, or "chanupa"), our facilitator assigned us something to do if we wanted to -- Make a list of 100 things you love about yourself.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect.  It was the day after the Celtic holiday of Imbolc, a celebration of Brigit, the Goddess of the forge and of healing.  It is a time of dedication. The night before I had participated in an Imbolc ritual with Gaia's Temple, where it was my honor to invoke and release the Spirits of Center.  It was a beautiful ceremony where we were cleansed of what was holding us back, and then we each lit a tea light, the flame passed around the circle from one person's candle to the next, to represent what we were dedicating ourselves to in the coming year. Once we all held this fire in our hands, we walked up to the altar, and released our prayers by floating our tea lights in the silver bowl of water -- Brigit's well (with actual water from Bride's Well in Ireland) -- while above it the blue flames of Brigit's forge danced in an iron cauldron.  The sight of all these floating tea lights reflecting and glimmering off of the water and the silver bowl that contained them in the semi-darkness of the room was amazing and magickal!

My little light carried the prayers and blessings from a personal rite I had done earlier in the afternoon.  I stood on my balcony facing the greenery behind my apartment, and holding up a necklace bearing (pun intended) a single bear claw, I prayed and dedicated myself once more to my path. I had already, at the beginning of the year, declared this My Year of Self, a time of returning to and moving from my center, putting myself, my needs, and my care first.  To aid me in these ventures, I once again dedicated my self to my Matron goddess, Artemis, virgin goddess of the wild -- hence the claw of the bear, which is her totem. The perfection of this was not lost on me, as the ancient Greek understanding of virginity has nothing to do with sex, but is someone who is whole and complete unto themselves. This is my goal and my North Star that guides me. And as I watched the shimmering floating candles lighting the way down the myriad paths of everyone in the circle that night, I couldn't help but shed a tear. 

So, freshly on my path of self realization and discovery, with a new born sense of excitement for what lies ahead, I embraced this assignment, and the following is my list of 100 things I love about myself:

I LOVE MY...

1. Sense of Humor  2. Compassion  3. Innocence  4. Simplicity  5. Ability to see the bigger picture  6. Sense of Hope  7. Intelligence  8. Intuition  9. Creativity  10. Ability to see Beauty/Wholeness in all things  11. Comics  12. Writing/Storytelling  13. Ability to find connections between seemingly unrelated things  14. Spontaneously breaking into song  15. Ability to listen  16. Ability to hold space for others  17. Active spiritual life  18. Whimsy  19. Overwhelming  goodness of Spirit  20. Tenacity  21.Ability and Willingness to change, adapt, and evolve  22. Looking at the world with a sense of wonder  23. Inner Child/Inner Puppy  24. Always seeking the Truth and Highest Good  25. Gentleness  26. My calming effects on others  27. Ability to laugh easily  28. Je ne sais quoi  29. Love of Nature  30.Love of Animals  31. Connection to the Earth  32. Having Jesus on speed dial  33. Integrity  34. Imagination  35. Ability to make friends  36. Sense of Honor  37. Spirituality  38. Attraction to the Obscure  39. Weirdness  40. Playfulness  41. Steadfast Trust in the rightness of everything  42. Belief that every person is basically good and Divine  43. Hair  44. Resilience and Bounce-Backibility (44-a. Ability to coin new words)  45. Romanticism  46. Natural inclination to Help and Heal  47. Art and Drawings  48. Ability to fall asleep almost anywhere  49. Snow Whiteness (attracting and connecting with animals and children)  50. Walking in Beauty  51. Sparkling, Faerie-dust magick that follows me everywhere  52. Deep Reverence for Life  53. Balance of Masculinity and Femininity  54. Introspection  55. Enduring Courage to keep moving forward  56. Awesomeness  57. Humility  58. Ability to walk with one foot in each world  59. Blend of Eastern and Western influences  60. Eclectic tastes in music  61. Having more women friends than men friends  62. Desire to help Empower people  63. Natural inclination toward Shamanism  64. Multiple talents in various arts and crafts  65. Mystical nature  66. Variety of interests and inspirations  67. Physical body -- it's appearance and sensations  68. Sense of Gratitude  69. Tendency to be awestruck  70. Kindness  71. Goofiness  72. Unique perspective  73. Cuddliness and Snuggliness  74. Hugs  75. Laugh  76. Recognition of the Sacred in all things  77. Growing Confidence in my shamanic and intuitive skills  78. Strength of Conviction  79. Mad punning skills  80. Retention of old jingles and theme songs (see number 14)  81. Resourcefulness  82. Relationships with my 'invisible friends'  83. Optimism  84. Contagious Light-heartedness  85. Path that crosses and incorporates other paths in its own unique flavor and blend  86. Always seeing beneath the surface  87. Ability to Manifest  88. Taoist default setting  89.  Love for, and irrepressible draw to, being in the woods  90. Being an Artist  91. Bedazzlement with the night sky  92. Love of and connection to Grandmother Moon  93. Sensuality and love of human touch  94. Whole-hearted approach to things  95. Love of learning and expanding my knowledge and experience  96. Curiosity  97. Self discovery through Cartooning  98. Application of Mythology and Metaphor to daily life  99. Maturing while maintaining child-like sensibilities  100. Personal Mythology (and just the fact that I have one)