What a stroke of gentle luck – to glance out and see brand new goslings on the edge of the pond across from my house!

Not by themselves, to be sure. Mama and Papa watch their brood like hawks and shepherd them everywhere – to mix a few metaphors.

And the goslings watch them and absorb their every move.

It reminds me how much our kids learn from us through our actions – without the interference of language.

There’s a wonderful duet – Haydn’s El Maestro Y Lo Scolare — The Teacher And The Student (Divertimento in F – click “Listen to Samples” and then #6). Each brief phrase is played first by the teacher and then is duplicated by the student. The best possible way to teach this piece is without using words at all, just through gentle repetition until the tone and dynamics, the staccato or legato, the phrasing are accurately replicated by the carefully listening student. It’s not only a lesson; it’s a soft and tender exchange.

As parents, we lead our kids this way all the time, showing them what to do – and showing them again — until they can copy it in its every nuance. It’s a precious trust, this I’ll show you and then you try dynamic, a sacred promise to show our children only what is right and safe for them to follow. In this way, we show them how to take care of themselves when they make a mistake, how to enjoy their successes, how to love themselves. And always, our actions – the way we treat them and the way we treat ourselves – create an impression far more lasting than the words we sometimes use as an override.

It’s an awesome responsibility, this lesson from the geese, although for them it is surely far simpler.