"It's wild!" That's what I hear from people these days and I think the same myself often enough. There are so many things going on that seem to defy the confines of what we think of as normal or manageable. It's especially beautiful to have an image from the real wild to remind us about our possibilities when we work together and when we offer one another empathy.
Many writers and speakers have tweaked these five lessons from geese. I have chosen to use Angeles Arrien as my source.
Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater range than if each bird flew alone.
Lesson: When we share a common sense of direction and community, we can get where we are going quicker and easier because we are traveling on the thrust of one another.
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Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
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Fact 3: 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. Like the geese, we are interdependent. We depend on one another's skills, capabilities and unique arrangement of gifts, talents and resources.
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Fact 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging [not judgmental!]. We are more productive when we are encouraged. The power of encouragement (i.e. to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
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