Pigeon-toed Emperors

There is something troubling the geese. Usually I hear them calling in the early evening as they gather together and head towards their evening nesting place.  The sound of their harsh honking is comforting, signaling to me that its also time for me to leave the demands of the day behind. But lately I have heard their alarmed cries several times during the course of the day followed sometimes by the sight of them reeling around the curve of the ridge on this part of the lake..  They are not a large flock, averaging about eight or ten thanks to the steady attentions I imagine of the fox and coyote.

Geese are not particularly admired in the contemporary world.  Their fondness for golf courses  and public water spaces is considered a nuisance.  They are loud, arrogant and bossy and their droppings create a terrible mess where they congregate. Few people know that geese were a powerful symbol to native peoples.  Filling the skies with thousands of waves of v-shaped formations as they migrated each year, they represented the sacred connection of living things to an awesome majesty beyond their capacity to fully understand. As huge numbers of them gathered in answer to some mysterious call, they reminded humans of their own yearnings.  They were a signal  to take leave of less important aspects of life in order to be able to answer the call of something beyond the work of living. There gathering numbers  were a reminder that the example of one, can create a path for others.  When they filled the skies it was considered an invitation for those watching, to consider what they needed to follow in spirit.

 I don't know what is troubling my flock of geese. I do know there are times in our own lives when we are dogged by our troubles and find ourselves lifting up over and over in search of a solution or safety only to discover they are both short lived.  Living requires constant attention--but perhaps the message here is so does being. I am wondering this morning that in those times when we cannot settle, find ourselves reeling around the horizons of our own lives, perhaps what is happening is part of our being is awake and calling to us, urging us to notice something deeper about our lives that needs our attention.  Spiritual quests are not just for storybooks, they are meant to be included in the pages of our lives.  Now  that's something to think about next time you see that pigeon toed emperor strolling across the grass down at the park isn't it?