Stop and Smell the Geese ... Er, Roses

Earlier today, I ran out to complete some errands. As I pulled out of my development, my head filled with invisible lists and potential check marks, I noticed a line of cars had come to a halt in the middle of usually very busy Fishcreek Road.

 And then I saw why.

 A gaggle of about 20 geese, some adults but mostly adolescents not yet able to fly, were crossing from one pond to another in formation that would be envied by the U.S. Army. I couldn’t help but smile, and as I made my right-hand turn away from the geese, I could see other drivers smiling too, and it occurred to me that we don’t take enough time to appreciate these unexpected gifts from nature.

 At other times, I’ve seen cars inch their way closer and closer to the geese as they crossed, frightening and confusing the birds. A few years back, four geese were hit by speeding cars in one day, leaving one wounded and suffering on the side of the road but not dead. My husband called to put the poor thing out of its misery.

Why are we in such a hurry? Forget that it’s illegal and dangerous to speed. Forget that kids could have been crossing the road instead of geese. What are we speeding toward? After all, this journey that we’re all on offers the same destination for each of us.

People are late — late for work, late for appointments, late for school. The result of this incessant failure to plan is not just frustration or road kill but also a death of the spirit. I’m not talking about spirit in the religious sense. I’m talking about the spark within all of us that makes us who we are and that keeps us connected to the world around us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson differentiated between nature, the physical environment, and Nature, the human spark. But, he theorized that there was an important connection between the two. I think he was right; I think it’s part of what makes us human, and we’re beginning to lose it.

All this rushing around means that we don’t even notice the world anymore. As William Wordsworth wrote, “It moves us not.” We put our blinders on and convince ourselves we are the center of the universe while all around us life and joy are ours if we’d only take the time to see them. In doing so, we might just find the center within ourselves.

At least three times today, a mother duck and her nine ducklings have come to my neighbors’ bird feeder to eat. Each time I see them, I hold my breath. I don’t want to frighten them away. Time stops. I find myself amazed by how they move in seeming unison, by how alert and watchful the mother is, how effectively they blend in with the earth, and how silent they are. And in that moment, something silences in me. The stress of my job. The never-ending to-do list. The worry. For a few seconds, I transcend it all.

Simplify, simplify, simplify, advocated Henry David Thoreau. Only connect, wrote E.M. Forster. Make a summer resolution to slow down.  Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. Better yet, be in the moment. No one knows how many more we have.