In an article titled "Geese Could Teach Humans A Lot About Flying Right," published in the Rocky Mountain News, the writer relates some lessons that can be learned from the goose. "Geese" have not always been referred to in a complimentary way. For instance, when we want to communicate that one did not do well on an exam or a test we speak of receiving "a goose egg." Laziness has been described by comparing a person to the goose -- "as lazy as a goose." Some people are called "a silly goose" implying that geese lack sobriety. In speaking about inequities the maxim, "What is good for the goose, is good for the gander," is employed. Killing the "goose that lays the golden eggs" is also part of the famous children's story.

However, there are a number of lessons that come from the southern pilgrimage that geese take every winter according to God's instinctive seasonal clock. I well imagine that we have wondered why geese fly in that famous "V" formation as they take that winter excursion south. According to "The Toronto Star" and the "Denver Rocky Mountain News," there are some reasons for their flying patters and some important lessons that we can learn from geese.

Flying in a "V" formation has a far more significant reason than looking pretty. Seemingly, geese engage in "drafting" as do race car drivers on competitive speedways. "Apparently each member of the V flapping its wings creates an updraft for the colleague following in its wake. By working together, geese in a unit can almost double the flying range of any one bird flying alone."¹ It is believed that the "V " formation affords a 71% greater flying range than if the birds flew individually. In fact, as soon as one of the geese fall out of formation, the increased drag and wind resistance encourages it to rejoin the formation and regain the lift created by the whole.

The various geese also take turns in leading the formation. "When the leader gets tired, it rotates back in the formation, letting another take and resting a spell on the thrust of his fellows."¹ The "point position" is shared by the strongest geese. Each leading goose stays the course and pays its dues in bearing the drag of that front position.

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"When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock."²

The practical human lessons are obvious: We need to fly together, in formation with others going the same way, riding on the "draft" of each other. Flying together means sharing the weight of leadership. Any racket ought to be encouraging "honks of support." When wounded, we ought to bear one another's burdens.

These lessons have been built into Canadian geese by their creator. However, they have not been built into men who have the freedom to make daily human choices. Nevertheless, we can still learn some lessons for flying right in our pilgrimage as we lift on the "draft" of our Lord who leads us to glory.

1"Geese Could Teach Humans A Lot About Flying Right," Rebecca Jones, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 03-01-1998, pp 10D.

2"Look Up To Canada Geese For Spirit Of Christmas", The Toronto Star, by Jim Coyle, 12-19-1998.