Do YOU have the Sense of a Goose?

© Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
Reflections: edited reposting

Click HERE for Part One: ABOUT Values and the Goose Story

A wonderful model for living

In 1994 I founded The Optimal Functioning Institute™ – the company that presented the world’s first comprehensive ADD-specific coaching curriculum, and the only one for many years (OFI’s certification compliant A.C.T.), a curriculum I developed and delivered personally for years.

OFI was founded according to the principles that Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes articulates in The Goose Story, an extremely short free-verse poem (below) about the importance of community.

For well over a decade it was featured prominently on my first website, ADDCoach.com, built to focus on promoting the existence of ADD Coaching and the importance of brain-based, ADD-specific, Coach Training — and one of the first ADD sites on the web.

I first shared it here on ADDandSoMuchMORE.com in 2011. Over the years, it has become a touchstone and a talisman for myself and, I hope, many of the students who trained with me.

In The Goose Story, Noyes compares and contrasts human behaviors to those of a flock of geese, starting with an impressive explanation as to why you always see them flying in V-formation.

The reason I was so taken with this story is a story of its own: how I became aware of the importance of a strong personal foundation and of values-based goals.

After my recent three-part empathy story [Part I here], which you’ll also find in the Related Contents at the bottom of this post, I decided it was time to share it again with many new readers who might never have seen it.

Part I of this post attempts to give you a little bit of background.
This post shares Noyes’ wise words.

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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:

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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.

When a 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 take advantage 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!

attributed to Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes in
ARCS NEWS, Vol. 7, No. 1, January 1992

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(reblogs always okay, and much appreciated)

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There’s a lot to know, a lot here already, and a lot more to come – in this Series and in others.
Get it here while it’s still free for the taking.

Want to work directly with me? If you’d like some one-on-one (couples or group) coaching help with anything that came up while you were reading this Series, click HERE for Brain-based Coaching with mgh, with a contact form at its end, or click the E-me link on the menubar at the top of every page. Fill out the form, submit, and an email SOS is on its way to me; we’ll schedule a call to talk about what you need. I’ll get back to you ASAP (accent on the “P”ossible!)

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Related Links here on ADDandSoMuchMore.com

• ABOUT Values and the Goose Story
• Bumbershoots, Metaphysics, Logic & Coaching
• Creating Community Together

• Do You Have a Minute? Sorry for the Inconvenience – Part I
• Sorry for the Inconvenience – Part II
• Empathy Finale – Part III

• The LinkList of the What Kind of World do YOU Want? articles

Related Links around the ‘net

• Canada Goose Haiku (friendlyfairytales.com)
• The Goose that Flies without Wings (indralokaanimalsanctuary – CHARMING!)
• Lessons from Geese (alienhippy)
• I would be proud to be a goose…how about you? (aclairavoyantjourney)
• The Rich go Galt, the Poor go Goose (Eradica)
• Be a goose! (sethsnap.com)

BY THE WAY: Since ADDandSoMuchMore.com is an Evergreen site, I revisit all my content periodically to update links — when you link back, like, follow or comment, you STAY on the page. When you do not, you run a high risk of getting replaced by a site with a more generous come-from.

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