I remember, not that long ago, looking up at the sky and sighing at the beauty of a flock of geese gracefully soaring across the blue, wondering where they were going and what they had seen, and in some small way feeling like, in that moment, I could soar too.

Then someone told me that geese are pests. They eat grass like goats and poop all over yards and golf courses. “Don’t feed geese,” they said, “You’ll never get rid of them.” And I have never looked at a gaggle of geese quite the same way.

How do we stop this from happening? How do we keep from losing the eyes of a child as we look at the amazing things in this world? How do we keep from becoming critical, bitter, old folks as we become more and more “educated” in “reality” with each passing year?

This morning I saw a flock of geese gliding above a silver lake and it took my breath away. Everything here that is beautiful has flaws but that doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful.