What does a GOAT say?

No not THAT goat, this goat! My mom and dad had the opportunity to head up to Cedar Point with my younger brother and a bunch of his buddies.  Though adventurous and fit they elected for some tamer attractions instead.  As such they spent a little time at the petting zoo and my mom shared this beauty of a pic and thought it might make for some blog material.  Well, no doubt it did. Moms are usually right, after all. But this picture, this goat, actually did get me thinking about some valuable life lessons without risking death at the hands of VAAAAALLLLLLRAVEEEENNNNN! Welcome back riders…let’s hear from the petting zoo goat!

Stick your neck out.  I had a couple drinks with a buddy last night and we got to talking business a bit, which lead to a discussion on the difference between being busy and getting shit done.  Shuffling papers or making paper.  I think a lot of times we, myself included, do “busy things” or “shuffle papers” to make ourselves look productive without actually sticking our neck out to sell, produce, or grow.  Perhaps due to ignorance of knowing exactly what to do, but I think a lot of times its due to fear.  Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success?  Time to stick your neck out. 

Grass might be greener on the other side.  The goat is checking things out isn’t he (she?).  Wondering, “hmm, maybe I’ll like things better over here. Maybe the hay tastes better.”  Sometimes, goat might be right.  But unlike the goat, the beauty of being human is we can assess, list pros/cons, and make a more informed decision about whether to try for greener pastures.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.  But certainly it’s worth a try.

Grass might not be greener on the other side.  But, as the goat finds, in this case, that the hay is the exact same hay he/she has been munching on in his/her stall.  As such, perhaps the pastures aren’t always greener.  Maybe a different job won’t be better, maybe a new partner won’t be more understanding, maybe the other school won’t have more opportunities.  But again, it’s tough to be able to look into the crystal ball and know with certainty how our decisions will play out.  But, you use the information in front of you at the time and make the best decision possible.  Then, we have to deal with it.  Make the most of it.  Or change course eventually.

Open your mind to new possibilities.  Goat might not always be able to jump into a different pen, but goat is certainly is exploring the space! Goat is inquisitive.  Goat is curious.  Goat wants to see what the F is up! Who knows what goat might find a long the way.  Goat doesn’t over think it.  Goat just moves Goat's head through the fence and takes a peek.  No judgement.  No bias.  Just taking a look.  Sounds nice doesn’t it!?

Think outside the box.  One of the coolest aspects about the goat is that even though the barrier is very well defined, a square goat-apartment, with four walls, the goat goes beyond the boundary.  Much like a dog who could run through the electric fence if it wanted to.  There is no actual physical barrier.  The goat realizes there are some limitations to the pen boundary.  Goat knows it can expand beyond the space that has been created for it. Goat can reach further than what the calculated space actually provides.  Shouldn't we do the same? Expand our possibilities? Reach for things that we might otherwise believe we’re too constrained to grab? Goat obviously doesn’t hold itself back…should we?? 

Simple living.  Hay and a wood fence.  That’s it.  Probably a few other goats or other animals.  That’s it.  Talk about a pretty simple way of being. And I imagine that goat is probably pretty content.  Food, shelter, and some socializing.  Now, we humans have the opportunity to enjoy some finer things in life, and that’s cool.  But I think goat reminds us that when we get too stressed out about life to realize we all could probably survive with some “hay,” some “fence,” and some “people.”  

So goat, though I never had the chance to meet you, I want to thank you.  Because the lessons that you taught in that simple picture can take people their entire lives to learn.  To everyone else…learn from Goat, it has a lot to say.