List Yourself

About five years ago, a dear friend gave me a book titled, "List Yourself: Listmaking as the Way to Self-Discovery." It's a book with pages and pages of suggestions for creating lists that will then open the doors to deeper levels of self-discovery. The authors are Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick. (Which makes me wonder why there's not a list topic in there for "List the reasons you gave your child two first names.")

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to try out one of the lists here, so today's list is, "List all the experiences that give you goosebumps." In no particular order:

• Medal ceremonies at the Olympics
  
• Changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  
• Walking in the battlefields of Gettysburg
  
• The Hallelujah Chorus - standing for it, singing it
  
• A 21-gun salute
  
• Hearing Taps, Reveille, and Pomp and Circumstances
  
• Viewing the aftermath of destruction - natural or manmade
  
• Walking down a dark alley alone
  
• Dogs barking in the dead of night for no apparent reason
  
• Hitting my funny bone
  
• Seeing dead animals on the road
  
• Exquisite beauty portrayed in images or words
  
• Fingernails on a chalkboard
  
• Recalling close calls, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual
  
• Thinking about something good, or bad, happening to my daughters
  
• Having my back scratched
  
• Having my hair brushed
  
• Butterfly kisses on my skin
  
• Whispered words of love and passion
  
• Sensing evil
  
• Sensing goodness or holiness
  
• Acts of patriotism or other types of heroism
  
• Seeing the "impossible" made possible
  

What are the things that touch you so deeply, whether for good or bad, that they bring goosebumps? What are the emotions behind those feelings? For me it's often fear, awe, a memory reawakened, or simply a physical reaction.

You know, I'd hate to live without goosebump moments. Even the bad ones. They remind me that I'm alive. That I'm capable of feeling. That the world is still a mysterious place with lots of things to discover.

I hope you enjoy a few goosebump moments today. :-)