Be The Duck

Many years ago, possibly even in my teens, I stumbled across a collection of inspirational quotes and the one stuck with me enough to scribble it down was this:  Always Behave Like A Duck.  Stay Calm and Unruffled On The Surface And Paddle Like Hell Underneath.  I don’t know why that one in particular hit me, but it’s been in my wallet or in my jewelry box for ages.  It may be slightly tattered and yellowed with age (much like myself), but it’s there and it pops up every now and again but mostly just stays tucked away in the filing cabinet of my mind.  The other day, while feeding the geese at the river with my children, the file drawer sprang open and I was reminded of the quote once again. 

We had a lot of old bread with us because this was the primary reason for our trip to that particular park.  It was a gorgeous day but when we approached the landing, there were only 4 birds waiting for us – a pair of geese and a pair of ducks.  We tossed the first bits of bread and the two ducks moved away to a quiet little cove downstream while the geese flapped their wings, shouted and made frenzied dives for the food.  This, of course, drew attention and suddenly several other geese made a mad dash to our landing. 

Nevermind that it was their own actions that attracted the new guests, Goose #1 and Goose #2 were not at all happy with these party crashers and began to attack the new arrivals.  Meanwhile, the two quiet ducks were casually picking up all the bread that floated to their peaceful area while the geese were too busy fighting to pick it up.  Amid all the splashing and nipping, every goose managed to get a bit of bread but I can’t imagine that they enjoyed it since each piece represented something they were entitled to and that should be kept from all the newcomers.  Mine, mine mine!!! 

I can’t pretend to know what goes on in the mind of a goose, but it seems that the fighting eventually became a game and that they were having fun.  Rowdy, frantic, chaotic activity just for the hell of it.  Fighting just to fight.  The more commotion that the geese created, the further down the river the two ducks moved.  Just quietly looked at one another and swam away.  No splash.  No noise.  Just movement away from the pandemonium. 

I recalled the quote at that moment and remembered why I liked it all along.  The geese and the ducks were from the same place.  They had the same opportunity for bread.  The geese screamed and shouted and demanded attention while proclaiming that all of the bread must be theirs!  The ducks wanted no part of that drama, moved away and patiently awaited the bread that they trusted would come down river to them.  When they had enough, they left the extra for the next birds that came along. 

We encounter Geese every day.  The guy leaning on his horn because you don’t turn right on red fast enough to please him is a Goose.  The coworker who alerts the media when they did something slightly beyond their job description is a Goose.  The woman in line at the grocery store who is so exasperated after having to wait more than a minute is a Goose.  I have a friend who has always referred to the snippy grumbling women in her office as The Geese.  That always made me laugh, but now I know what she was talking about.  Geese are territorial, mean and aggressive.  They scream and they bite.  They often don’t even remember why they are so angry in the first place.  They fight and bicker just for the sport of it.  The Geese are all around us.   

Now, how many Ducks do you know?  I feel fortunate to have many Ducks in my life.  These are the people who do the right thing just because it’s the right thing, not because they expect accolades.  Ducks hold open doors and let people merge in traffic.  Ducks buy sour lemonade from a kid trying to earn money for bubblegum and declare it the best lemonade ever.  Ducks don’t grumble when things don’t go their way, they find a new way.  Ducks work hard and don’t complain.  Ducks have troubles like anyone else, but they focus on the blessings, not the stressings and that’s how they keep moving forward. 

In other words, Ducks remain calm and unruffled on the surface while they are paddling like hell underneath. 

So that tattered yellow paper will remain in my jewelry box for a while longer and I’m going to do my best to be the Duck and on the days when that’s not so easy, I hope to at least recognize the Duck who is probably helping me out and save the best bread for them.