Gentle, fercious,
Nurturing, protective. Strong,
Being in balance.
Not an actively religious or spiritual person, but I went through a little.... phase, we'll call it, of introspection and somewhat occult spiritual exploration several months ago. During that time, the bear made some recurring appearances, which I found interesting given the consistency with which it did so, and in light of some minute coincidences with past events. Who knows. :)