Great Spirit's Message and Canada Goose

      "Canada Goose Gander In A Tree"

          -Copyright May 2008 by Judith Hirst-Joyeux

 

The first time that I saw a Canada Goose in a tree, my reaction was, "What the ..?"  And then I saw a goose several more times in this tree and in various trees, and I began to be curious. I have been seeing geese in trees for the last five years.  First, my curiosity was around why he was behaving this way, and second, I wondered why I was continually seeing this behaviour. I finally snapped this picture.

After I took this picture, I realized a certain irony in the situation.  There are wonderful stories about goslings (baby geese) being imprinted with the first thing that they see upon hatching.  The imprint leads the gosling to regard that object/animal/person as their mother and supreme leader until the gosling is ready to fly on its own.  Now, here I was, imprinting the goose forever in my memory by actually taking a picture of it. There had to be something going on at a Spirit level.

I remember reading in a Ted Andrew's book that goose is about the call of the quest  and travel to places of legend. Perhaps goose was reminding me that my life is  a quest and that I better get moving on it.  Or, perhaps it is to be a reminder that magic is possible, as in legends - that the impossible such as a goose in a tree, does happen.  Since the goose is sitting up high, and this particular group of trees is in the middle of a grassy field, it seems that the goose is actually a "guardian or look out" for the small group of geese that were below the tree and along the stream.  There are several coyotes in the area that do use the long grass for ground cover as the coyote quests for food.

The idea of "look out" sent me on a new wave of thought.  Perhaps this is a warning to be on the look-out for those things which may creep up on you.  Or, it may be a reminder to be protective and to guard your mate and your family and friends.  Goose is often associated with writing and telling the story because our ancestors used goose quill pens as writing tools.  So, the idea of being on the look-out for a story or for workshop material also seems like part of the message.  

The message that resonated with me, however, was "responsibility".  This goose shows that one must accept responsibility in the group to help the group's survival.  Further, goose accepts that there is a role each of the group must perform, and in doing that role, one doesn't get to indulge in self serving actions (eating, drinking, resting, playing, or simply refusing to get involved but wanting others to do the work). This realization caused me to do some soul searching.  Was I stepping up to the plate?  Was I doing all that I could do to assist my group? Was I self indulgent? 

The answer, I realized, is in the perspective.  When you are higher up, and more removed from the situation, such as goose is, up in the tree, one sees the bigger picture.  One sees how the field merges into the trees and into the bank of the stream and even the stream itself.  One sees the symmetry and balance of being able to forage without worry while another guards.  If however, you are one of the geese on the ground, all you see is the detail around you.  Part of the balance then, comes from each goose taking a turn at sitting in the tree as the look-out while the others, including the previous look-out, take time to eat and rest.

In each of our lives, there are those people who are always demanding that we do more - that if we do not do more, we are "not responsible" or "not loving" or "not being part of the group".  As goose shows, one needs to be on the
"look-out" for those people in your life that will manipulate you, and will put your life out of balance.  The goose sends the message, then, of being discerning in where one goes and in the people or groups that one associates with, to guard against being out of balance.  That is a soul felt message from Great Spirit!

May you be peaceful and at ease, and may you be balanced,

Judy