one of the most fascinating things about my favourite animal is the amount of affection that they have for one another; if one goose falls sick or becomes injured, two additional geese drop out of the v-formation to help and protect him. if the injured goose gets better, the three of them find another flock and continue flying; if it doesn't, the two geese refuse to leave the one's side until it succumbs to its injuries.

geese take care of each other and stick together.

research shows that as each goose flaps its wings, an intense uplift is created for the birds behind them. even further, studies state that geese are able to fly with 71% more range when flying together than they are alone. 71%? that's insane!

but when a goose leaves the formation, the opposite happens. not only are they able to fly with less range, but they immediately feel the resistance of the air and find it difficult to fly alone.

i don't know about you, but i find it difficult to 'fly' alone, too.

my newsfeed, though all about image, is full of couples, families, and vacations that people take with their friends, and i sit here and continue to scroll through it alone wondering what's wrong with me, why i can't stop scrolling, and why i can't seem to connect to people the way i long to.

sometimes i keep how i feel to myself, and other times, i blog about it.

i wonder, though, what people would do if i really shared how i feel? would they, like my favourite animal, leave their formation and sit with me for a bit, or would they keep flying? and the bigger question - is loneliness something we all struggle with despite what our newsfeeds imply, and something we just have to accept and persevere through?

maybe. but i'd like to believe that, like geese, we get more range - and a lot more out of life - when we stick together.