Lately, I have been fascinated by geese, their sense of community and their high altitude movement patterns.
I’ve also enjoyed reading a wonderful poem by Mary Oliver called “Wild Geese,” so I thought I’d share with you some Lessons From Geese.
These lessons are taken from a response to the poem by Angeles Arrien in 1991.
Enjoy…….
Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Lesson: As menopausal women we share a common experience and we know that we want to feel good and optimize our health.
Having a sense of community can get us where we’re going quicker and easier, because we are traveling on the thrust of one another, just like the geese.
When you’re feeling “out of formation,” which happens to all of us from time to time, seeking guidance can help get you back into the “V”!
Don’t be shy about asking for help!
Fact 2: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership.
As with geese, we are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.
This is a fun lesson to consider.
Do you have a network you can turn to?
We all have gifts, talents and resources, and being able to connect with other women and share these things is what makes life so rich.
Knowing what you know and knowing who to turn to when you are lacking takes putting your ego aside, being bold and asking for help, and being thankful when the answers come.
I have a wonderful network which continues to grow every year.
The women who participate by reading this blog, commenting on what they read and staying in touch are part of that network.
Being of service to you all feels good and helps me appreciate our interdependence.
Fact 3: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those in front to keep up their speed.
Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging.
In groups where there is encouragement the production is greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage
the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
It never ceases to amaze me how long after someone’s helpful words have been spoken, those words still float around in my psyche.
Of course it works on the flip side too, and we all can revisit discouraging words
as well.
Our words and actions are powerfully influential. It can be easy to find something encouraging to say if only we take a moment to think before we speak.
Fact 4: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help or protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
It is so easy in our competitive world to forget team spirit. Sometimes we are the ones dropping out of formation and at other times we are the ones offering our aid and protection.
That’s life, is it not?
I’d like to think I have enough “geese” sense to recognize these times and offer up the best of my human nature during these occasions.
I felt like sharing my geese lesson observations with you.
I hope they were in some small way helpful.
As I close this blog post I’d like to thank you all for the encouragement I receive on a regular basis.
It is a blessing to have you all to FLY with!
shelli
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