Counting Your Freckles

Shamanic Journeys can be very powerful healing experiences. Often times clients receive gifts in the form of visions or messages that aid them in healing an old pain, or that can give them answers about their station in life. These profound experiences can mean everything to someone who is suffering.
In a recent journey with a client she was greeted with the image of a grandfather who has passed. She said he was “not quite him, but rather like God was manifesting himself through the image” of her grandfather. I advised her to look into his eyes, and let him lead her where ever he wanted to.
She was taken to the old neighborhood where she grew up. Her and her grandfather were just walking around, enjoying a nice stroll, holding hands and talking about old times. Sharing stories. Just like anyone would with someone they were close to, or had a deep connection with.
After they had walked and talked for awhile he stops and looks at her, pokes the tip of her nose and says, “look at you, you must have a million freckles. I think I should count them.” He then begins counting each of her freckles one by one. Naming the number with each freckle he gently touched.
When he was done he looked into her eyes and said, “don’t settle for anyone who isn’t going to count your freckles.”
My client was shook, I was shook.
What a powerful statement.
“Don’t settle for anyone who isn’t willing to count your freckles.”
Wow.
How often have you been in a relationship with someone who would “count your freckles”? I feel pretty confident in saying that I never have. So why do we do this? Why do we put ourselves in these situations where we are with someone who wouldn’t even take the time to count our freckles? Or even take the time to notice small details about us? Or even just get to know us at all?
I can think of so many relationships, where I’m being told over and over about all the things they don’t like about me. Some of the things are innocuous, some of them are really and truly pieces of who I am as a person. Each time, this conversation ends the same way. With me saying, “If you don’t love me, then why are you with me?” To which I usually get the response, “Oh but I do love you.”
Oh no, I’m sorry to tell you, but you don’t.
I feel like my client’s session was a really profound learning experience for her, but in a very real way, the experience spoke to me as well.
“Don’t settle for anyone who isn’t going to count your freckles.”
So what does that mean when we unpack that statement? There’s a lot going on here. Someone who would count your freckles would be someone who would pay very close attention to the smallest details of you as a person. They would be someone who lovingly took the time to touch, and count each and every one of them. This activity would take so much focus, so much attention, so much care to want to connect with the smallest parts of your being. So why don’t we do just that, why don’t we all take old grand dad’s advice?
Also, let us take that advice and run with it ourselves. Why can’t we count someone we love’s freckles? In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m not even meaning physical freckles necessarily, but what about our metaphorical ones? What about counting the small details about each other, and just noticing them like we would notice the stars? Look on in awe at the smallest parts of each other and see them as pieces that make up this person that we love.
We are all composites of a wide array of small details just waiting to be noticed by someone who loves us, and takes the time to notice each and every one of these things. The next time you spend time with someone you care about notice the funny curve of their smile, the way they hold their pinky outside of the cup holder while having their morning coffee, or the way they pronounce a word in a way that no one else does, or even the amount of freckles that are sprinkled across their nose.
Whatever your freckles are, make sure you’re not settling for anyone who doesn’t notice them, count them, and count themselves lucky for the opportunity to do so. Life is far too short to be with someone who would never count your freckles.