It’s never easy to stay in line or keep it between the lines. Those who look on from the sidelines might take for granted the effort that’s required. Things done well often look like they come naturally to the doer. Yet this is seldom so.
In his book Outliers about super achievers, Malcolm Gladwell notes that success in our endeavours depends more on effort and practice than natural ability, intelligence or education. He strongly advocates the need for 10,000 hours of practice at any skill in order to master it.
There’s no denying the amount of work required to flap your wings from Canada to the warmer places south of the border. Some days must be easier than others. Weather is seldom perfect. Yet despite all the hard work, geese may know something we humans don’t yet realize about achieving our goals.
Geese take turns at the lead. Depending on who’s strongest on a given day, the leader facing the most powerful winds may be one goose one day and another the next. If one goose falls ill or is injured, a couple stay back to care for it until they can all continue their journey together. The code geese live by ensures that getting everyone in the air and on their way will always take priority over any goose getting to the destination first.
Gladwell also noticed that super achievers had a remarkable amount of support from others in their journey to success. Sharing strengths with others and daily support and encouragement from family and friends is crucial in order for all of us to achieve our goals and dreams. Geese already seem to know how to do this. We can all learn much from their example.
Flandrum Hill 
Amy, Wise Woman of the Bog, if you get any wiser we’re going to…well, keep listening to you. I love this post. How true it is. You can be at the front of the geese-V for awhile, and soon you let go and another goose comes to the forefront. Support is so crucial! We are strengthened so much by the support others give us, and we can then help and support the next goose flying at the crest of that V.
Yes Kathy that’s exactly it.
The story of the wisdom of the geese has been around for some time now (see http://suewidemark.com/lessonsgeese.htm) but its message is still relevant.
Very insightful – thank you for the reminder.
JoAnn, the story of the geese was at the heart of my quilting group years ago. I think the first quilt we did together made use of the flying geese pattern.
“We get by with a little help from our friends…” There are gifts and blessings in both taking our turn at being the leader and in being washed in the wind of those who are leading.
Cindy, thanks for pointing out that there’s good to be had in all the roles we might be called upon to play.
You made good use of the pesky overhead wires! Nice post. The geese are the surest sign that the season is turning again.
Just trying to make the most of Nova Scotia Power’s eyesores Gerry 🙂 Besides the geese flying south, so many leaves have fallen in the past few days. We’re definitely entering another stage of the season.
This wonderfully insightful post goes right along with something I was going to write. I was standing at the lake one morning and thinking about how extraordinary the geese are. Caring more about each other than being first and best…what an example! Thanks so much…
Millhill, I have heard that Canada geese are considered pests by some folks south of the border. They’re such large birds, and in large numbers I can see them being intimidating and creating a big mess if they overstay their welcome.
Good to know that you think they are extraordinary creatures too 🙂
[…] read at Flandrum Hill’s blog, a wonderful post about the geese. They don’t leave each other behind, in fact they make sure […]
If humans were geese, we’d probably fall out of the sky!
Yes, we can learn a lot from them…
Yes I’m sure we would pepsoid. Animals seem to be far better at harnessing everyone’s individual strengths to work together towards a common goal.
Odd, considering how “intelligent” we are!