BIPOLAR MANIA AND THE FLOCK
A flock of geese once flew south for the winter.
As was typical, the geese toward the front of their formation bore the brunt of the wind, breaking it up to allow the geese at the rear to fly more easily. One goose, stronger than most all the rest, always found itself at or very near the front of the formation.
During this particular journey south, the strong goose, who had spent many days at the front of the formation without rest, learned about the nature of its flock.
Though the strong goose knew the way to the southern lands by heart, while it was flying it started to lean slightly to one side to appreciate the view provided by the sun.
Just when it had leaned enough to catch a worthwhile view, the strong goose heard a soft cough from an elder goose positioned at the rear of the formation.
Without hesitation, the strong goose corrected its flight path to fly straight and level at the winds in front of it.
Continuing to fly, the strong goose realized that when it had leaned off to the side, the winds bore down significantly more intensely on the rest of the flock.
Knowing there were elders and younger geese behind, the strong goose now appreciated that the entire flock would never be able to reach the southern lands if it, or the other strong geese at the front bore off course.
As a result, rather than become upset at the elder goose, the strong goose turned back to meet its eyes for a brief moment, gave it a subtle nod, and faced back around to continue in its role at the front of the formation.
When I think about bipolar mania, I think about frontward geese taking worthwhile views provided by the sun. I know that in these views, beauty can be observed. I know that from this beauty, remedies can be created for any problem. But like the frontward goose in the story, I’ve learned that these views can also cause damage.
No one reaches the front, or moves from the front toward the rear, without casualties occurring. For someone experiencing bipolar mania, these casualties are in the form of damage to relationships, and they occur when an infinitely small threshold between order and chaos is crossed. In the above example, the frontward goose began to reach the threshold, but as it later learned, crossing the threshold would threaten the whole flock.
Since it is inevitable that casualties will always occur, the goal is not to eliminate bipolar mania. Doing this would cause the most fertile ordering, that which is at the threshold, to go undetected. Instead, the goal is to allow a frontward goose to appreciate a worthwhile view for long enough so that an ordering can be discerned. The goal is for the threshold to be reached, and then voluntarily withdrawn from, like a wave reaching a crest and then receding.
This means that when a person experiences bipolar mania, they must voluntarily withdraw at some point and acknowledge the mortality of their mind. While there is unquestionable beauty associated with bipolar mania, the refusal to withdraw is what causes trust to deteriorate, which in turn causes chaos to ensue.
To those at the front, do not be reckless with the trust that others have placed in you, lest you get many of them killed. The flock is many more than trillions large, and includes all living species. To those who are rearwardly positioned, have faith in those at the front, and remember that they always fly truer when they are free of your grip. Your faith in them and their appreciation for you are two parts of trust that will allow the flock to safely fly in any medium.
Text Copyright © TXu 2-105-459, John P. Powers, 2018, 2025, all rights reserved. Additional copyright registration pending.