The Twelve Gifts

There's a children's book my mom gave me when I graduated from high school that I look back on now and then to take inventory of my life. The Twelve Gifts of Birth basically overviews what the angels give each child when s/he is born to aid him/her in a happy and loving life. They are as follows:

1. Strength - "May you remember to call upon it whenever you need it."
2. Beauty - "May your deeds reflect its depth."
3. Courage - "May you speak and act with confidence and use courage to follow your own path."
4. Compassion - "May you be gentle with yourself and others. May you forgive those who hurt you and yourself when you make mistakes."
5. Hope - "Through each passage and season, may you trust the goodness of life."
6. Joy - "May it keep your heart open and filled with light."
7. Talent - "May you discover your own abilities and contribute them toward a better world."
8. Imagination - "May you nourish your visions and dreams."
9. Reverance - "May you appreciate the wonder that you are and the miracle of all creation."
10. Wisdom - "Guiding your way, wisdom will lead you through knowledge to understanding. May you hear its soft voice."
11. Love - "It will grow each time you give it away."
12. Faith - "May you believe."

Over the next few days, weeks, however long it takes me to complete my new project, I plan to review each of these birthright "gifts" and reflect what they mean to me, how I have applied them to my life, how I hope to use them in my life in the future, and how my perspective toward these gifts has changed since the blissful innocence of my childhood (maybe that I don't even view some of them as gifts anymore?).

Keep posted.