Thursday, August 13, 2009

Nature’s Traffic Stop


I witnessed something today that truly put a smile on my face. Rush hour traffic came to a standstill because a flock of Canadian Geese decided to cross the road. What was interesting to me was that people who normally honk ferociously if you are not moving fast enough, yell cuss words out the window if you slow down on an amber light, and generally are mean spirited during the morning commute because they have somewhere to be; did none of the usual morning behaviors.

This morning, none of that happened because nature provided its own traffic calmer. In an instant, all cars stopped and patiently waited for the geese to cross. I immediately thought of the Goose Story allegory, which is below. Have a Great Day!


The Goose Story
by Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes

Next fall, when you see Geese heading South for the Winter, flying along in V formation,
you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:
as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.

By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Whena goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to takeadvantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose,
we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are.

When the Head Goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying South.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we say when we honk from behind?

Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshots and falls out of formation,
two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection.
They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly, or until it dies.
Only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

IF WE HAVE THE SENSE OF A GOOSE, WE WILL STAND BY EACH OTHER LIKE THAT.

4 comments:

Liara Covert said...

Sandra, human beings are regularly invited to reconnect with nature and their true selves. It is wonderful when nature literally bring human beings to a standstill so they take a moment to contemplate where they are and what truly matters. Blessings!

Sandra said...

How true, Liara, how true!

Robin Easton said...

Hi Dear Sandra,

WOW!! What a great post, life lessons, photo and story. :))

We humans think we rule the world but there are SO many times that we have no control over many aspects of Nature. I just love that because it once again reminds us that we are NOT as in charge as we might like to believe. To be brought to a standstill by a gaggle of geese is pure poetry. I just absolutely love it.

As to the story beneath. It is soooo beautiful. It moved my heart deeply. Oh Nature is so intelligent. We must find our place in the harmony of Nature once again and with each other.

This is just a beautiful, wistful, endearing post. I REALLY like this one SO much. Simply beautiful.

Sandra said...

Robin,
You are too kind. Thanks for the insightful comments. It reall was a sight to behold.

Blessings to you :-)