It was a warm August evening, among the last few left before the cool Canadian weather would start creeping up and swallowing the summer bliss. I was walking with my husband and our faithful dog through the fields, where we go to watch the sun set almost every night. We were noticing how the sun rests earlier every day, subtly announcing that winter is not far away.

As we passed the fields and came to a clearing, we were surprised to see a Canadian goose wandering about, all alone. Usually these beautiful birds migrate in a team of geese as they prepare to head south for the winter, so we were clearly distraught. Is the goose lost? Is it hurt? Is it too exhausted or sick to stay with its gaggle? We could not help feeling its confusion, worry, and sadness of being alone, and perhaps abandoned. We worried that he might end up in the jaws of one of the local foxes soon, having nowhere to hide.

My husband turned to me and suggested that he bring our dog back home, so as not to frighten the goose, and that I stay for a while. “Why don’t you try your Reiki stuff? It might not help much, but it surely can’t hurt.” I thought that a calm, grounded presence radiating the purest intention of love, respect and non-judgmental support would be the only, if not the best thing, that I could offer. And so I humbly settled on the ground not too close to the gander and slowly began to connect with my inner calm.

I began chanting my mantras in my mind (I knew the goose could hear even from afar), connecting with my breath to Earth and Sky, and inviting the gander to enter the peaceful space of Reiki with me. After what seemed to be ten mere minutes in our sense of time, but perhaps eternal or rather—timeless–in the ethereal dimension of Reiki, the goose lifted its head up high, as if taking in a big breath of strength, began a run to gain momentum and took sail on its long steady wings, far up and away into the sunset. I thanked the goose for trusting me in all its vulnerability, for sharing its courage with me, and of course, I thanked Reiki. I hoped that the goose would find its feathered friends soon, and that I might see him again someday, flying over me with its skein.

 

By SARA Practitioner Tamara Grodzicky