A lesson from the Canada Geese...

Next fall when you see geese heading south for the winter flying along in their "V" formations, you might be interested to know what science has discovered about the way they fly. It has been learned that as each bird flaps it's wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own (or has an increased stamina of 71%).

LESSON: People who share a common direction and sense of community, are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.

LESSON: If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go.

When the lead goose gets tired, he/she rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

LESSON: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership/interdependance with each other.

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

LESSON: We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging, not something less helpful.

Finally: When a goose gets sick or wounded by gun shots and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow the injured goose down to help and protect them. They stay with them until they are either able to fly or until they are dead, then the protectors launch out on their own with another formation to catch up with the group.

LESSON: When we share a bond and we ALL stand by each other, we feel better about ourselves and we are all true winners.