The Wisdom of Geese, By Dr. Liesa Leggett Garcia

 Hiking a trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range not long ago, I was in awe of a flock of geese that flew overhead.  How many times had I seen (and heard!) geese flying but on this particular day, I stopped and really observed them in wonder.  I had been struggling with a problem that I hadn’t been able to resolve and feeling frustrated by it, so I hoped a walk in nature would clear my mind and inspire me.  I was not disappointed.    

The geese are phenomenal.  They fly in a V formation because somehow they know it conserves energy, reducing the wind resistance, burning less energy than going it alone.  The goose in the front works extra hard but it’s a temporary gig—in fact, they take turns leading when he gets tired.  The V also helps them keep track of every bird in the flock. Geese also take care of each other; they honk as a way to tell each other to keep going. Their honks are how they communicate their support of one another. And if one of them becomes wounded, a couple of their pals stay with him until he’s ready to fly again. 

As the geese continued their flight, I reconsidered the frustrating issue I was facing.  I remembered sage advice I once received:  1^st There is always a solution to every problem. 2^nd There are always people to help.  This has stayed with me. No matter what the issue or difficulty, remember there is always an answer.  It may not be easy, but it is not impossible to uncover it.  Even if the issue is completely foreign and unknown, there are always people who can and will help support and navigate.  You’re never alone.  You’re not the only goose flying this route; there are those who have gone before you who can show you the way. And when you get tired, let someone else take the lead. 

Geese have been imparted with the instinctive wisdom of knowing what to do and how to do it. Can’t we imagine that we, too, have been imparted with the intuitive wisdom to also know what we need to do on the myriad roads we travel? 

Nature, in all her wisdom, has a remarkable way of showing us what is possible. 

 

Divine Discontent by Rev. Dr. Liesa Leggett Garcia

Are you content with your life, or at least with where you are now, with what you’re doing, who your friends and close relationships are? Are you content with your health and your physical body? Are you content with your job or career? Content means we’re in a state of peaceful happiness. We’re satisfied. We’re okay with it, we accept it as it is. It’s a nice feeling to be content.

Now what of “discontent?” This is a sense of dissatisfaction with your life or maybe what’s going on in the world. It can be a restless desire or craving for something that you don’t have. I like to use the term “Divine Discontent” because there’s likely a higher purpose going on than just being unhappy or out of sorts. There’s a nudging from the Divine encouraging us to be or do something differently.

Take our physical health, for instance. If we experience pain somewhere in our body, we realize that something is out of sorts; it’s our body’s way of telling us to pay attention, that help is needed. Pain wants to be noticed. So what do we do? We may call a prayer practitioner, or a doctor; or we can ignore it and hope it goes away. And maybe it will. But if it persists or gets worse, it’s insisting we do something else. The point is, when it’s not something that we can ignore, we do our best to be proactive to make the pain go away so we may return to a healthy, balanced state.

What about when you’re out of sorts and in emotional pain. How might that manifest itself? I can feel crabby, restless, even edgy. I may even take it out on others. When we’re paying attention to our inner signals, we know when something’s wrong. The key is to be aware of it before it turns to anger, rage even, and doing something constructive and helpful when it shows itself. Pain is pain—it’s still telling you something is wrong. Ask yourself what it is you need and fulfill it in a healthy way.

Divine Discontent is not a bad thing. If it were not for it, we would still be back in caves! It’s just a signal, a message from our Higher Wisdom Self. It’s our innate restlessness with the status quo (and willingness to do something about it) that keeps us from being stuck. Thomas Edison said, “Discontent is the first necessity of progress.” So there’s that. It’s a call to do and be something that may be different than this. There is that within us that knows just what to do, and how to do it to move past the pain and discomfort… to a place of peaceful happiness.

Dr. Liesa is the Senior Minister of Center for Spiritual Living, Reno.  She is celebrating 35 years in the ministry.