In defense of the geese…
The uWaterloo geese have a bad rap. Personally, I have a hard time with this. I am amazed by the geese. I love the geese. The geese make a significant contribution to uWaterloo (and I don’t mean by their droppings). I have one point and one point only to argue today and I will ramble to get to it…
This morning I walked right through the middle of a flock on the Grebel green. Geese surrounded me on all sides. As I approached, they each stopped eating and took stock of me and I of them and I wondered…
Are they a threat? How close will they let me come? What do they think of me? Do geese think critically? How can they eat all day and not get fat? Do geese get fat? They all look about the same size, is that genetics? How do they know if they’re related? Oh look, one hissed at me! I did not know that geese have tongues, would you look at that? Quite a long tongue too, do all birds have tongues? I’ve heard geese are strong enough to break your arm… but I’d still like to touch one. If a goose accidently scooped up a worm with the grass would it spit it out? Do geese ever get constipated? They don’t have ears? How do they hear me coming? Or do they smell me coming? Or do they feel me coming? If I could tame one, which one would I tame. Would I have to name him Conrad? Or suppose it was female? Would it let me close to her babies without breaking my arm? The babies are really cute when they are young. And after the awkward puberty stage they become so majestic yet so uniform – how do they all look alike? I wonder what happened to the one with the limp? Did the injury heal or was the goose taken down by a predator due to its weakness? Most of them are not moving out of my way as I walk, does this mean that I am not threatening enough? Should I give them one of my mom glares? Or should I let them look on me in peace as I walk among them? I love it when they open their wings – they really are quite majestic. It’s amazing.
In this moment, I am not thinking about my midterm or my paper. I am not thinking about the cost of winter tires. I am not thinking about what to get my daughter for Christmas. I am not thinking about the laundry that needs doing. I am not thinking about whether I can afford to take a trip. I am not thinking about my allergies. I am not thinking about the difficult relationship I have with my parents. I’m thinking about geese. Just geese. How they look, how they move, how they interact with their world, how they interact with me. I wonder. I am amazed. I am enthralled. I am entertained. I am distracted from ‘self’ and gifted with ‘other’. I feel joy, curiosity, and appreciation. Last week as I walked on campus several geese took flight about 3 feet in front of me – wow. I don’t experience that in my hometown, or in my office, or even on vacation. I really only experience those moments as I walk on campus and I love it! The geese (and the squirrels and the bunnies and the groundhogs and the turtles) capture my attention and I am grateful for them for that gift. I wish for you that as you encounter the geese may your attention also be turned from ‘self’ to ‘other’ and enjoy the moment that is not ripe with expectation or obligation, that you can also wonder and be amazed at their audacity to stand up to you, at their ability to coexist and at their uniform beauty.
Long live the geese!
Pam Bartel
The uWaterloo geese have a bad rap. Personally, I have a hard time with this. I am amazed by the geese. I love the geese. The geese make a significant contribution to uWaterloo (and I don’t mean by their droppings). I have one point and one point only to argue today and I will ramble to get to it…
This morning I walked right through the middle of a flock on the Grebel green. Geese surrounded me on all sides. As I approached, they each stopped eating and took stock of me and I of them and I wondered…
Are they a threat? How close will they let me come? What do they think of me? Do geese think critically? How can they eat all day and not get fat? Do geese get fat? They all look about the same size, is that genetics? How do they know if they’re related? Oh look, one hissed at me! I did not know that geese have tongues, would you look at that? Quite a long tongue too, do all birds have tongues? I’ve heard geese are strong enough to break your arm… but I’d still like to touch one. If a goose accidently scooped up a worm with the grass would it spit it out? Do geese ever get constipated? They don’t have ears? How do they hear me coming? Or do they smell me coming? Or do they feel me coming? If I could tame one, which one would I tame. Would I have to name him Conrad? Or suppose it was female? Would it let me close to her babies without breaking my arm? The babies are really cute when they are young. And after the awkward puberty stage they become so majestic yet so uniform – how do they all look alike? I wonder what happened to the one with the limp? Did the injury heal or was the goose taken down by a predator due to its weakness? Most of them are not moving out of my way as I walk, does this mean that I am not threatening enough? Should I give them one of my mom glares? Or should I let them look on me in peace as I walk among them? I love it when they open their wings – they really are quite majestic. It’s amazing.
In this moment, I am not thinking about my midterm or my paper. I am not thinking about the cost of winter tires. I am not thinking about what to get my daughter for Christmas. I am not thinking about the laundry that needs doing. I am not thinking about whether I can afford to take a trip. I am not thinking about my allergies. I am not thinking about the difficult relationship I have with my parents. I’m thinking about geese. Just geese. How they look, how they move, how they interact with their world, how they interact with me. I wonder. I am amazed. I am enthralled. I am entertained. I am distracted from ‘self’ and gifted with ‘other’. I feel joy, curiosity, and appreciation. Last week as I walked on campus several geese took flight about 3 feet in front of me – wow. I don’t experience that in my hometown, or in my office, or even on vacation. I really only experience those moments as I walk on campus and I love it! The geese (and the squirrels and the bunnies and the groundhogs and the turtles) capture my attention and I am grateful for them for that gift. I wish for you that as you encounter the geese may your attention also be turned from ‘self’ to ‘other’ and enjoy the moment that is not ripe with expectation or obligation, that you can also wonder and be amazed at their audacity to stand up to you, at their ability to coexist and at their uniform beauty.
Long live the geese!
Pam Bartel