Memories

Groups of geese gathered on each side of the sidewalk. As I approached the little mob, I hesitated. They’re just friendly park geese I thought. But as I started walking through the group, a large white goose headed toward me. As his beady eyes stared at me I felt threatened. I remembered the geese we used to have that would go to great lengths to come after me and try to bite me. I knew my feelings were irrational, but I looked behind me as I quickly walked away.

Memories, beliefs and thoughts from the past can have a profound affect on how we view current situations. Because we had aggressive white geese in the past, I saw the goose as being aggressive. It didn’t even make sense because I’ve never seen an incident in the park, never heard a report of an aggressive goose, but I had seen white geese being aggressive in the past, so I felt aggression when it wasn’t there.

When I realized that my irrational feelings cam from a past experience, I was able to make sense of the situation and release the fear.

60 minutes walking