Saving The Golden Goose: Where True Gold Lies

I remember as a child being fascinated by a small aspect of a much larger fairy tale in Jack and the Beanstalk. I guess I have never really been enamored with conquest and really thought that Jack was a thief, but I loved the hen that laid the golden eggs.

The original source of course was Aesop, who told a tale with a moral core in The Goose that laid the golden egg. A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose that laid a golden egg every day. For a while they were happy and lived well, but then they became impatient with how quickly they were accumulating their wealth. So they thought that if the goose could lay such a fine egg of gold, it must be lined with the precious metal. If they cut the goose open, they could get the gold all at once. Of course we all know what happened, the goose was just a goose and there was no gold inside. For Aesop, the moral of the story was much wants more and loses all. I think there is also a hidden message, true gold comes from the process of creating.

You, my dear Diva, are a Golden Goose. Each day you lay multiple golden eggs throughout your life. They are often disguised as meals for loved ones, staying a little later at work to help your boss or co-workers, volunteering at the church or PTA, working on your cross-stitch or scrapbooking or on a passion of your heart. Everything that you do, each and every day, that brings a blessing to another is a golden egg. Like the goose in the story, you know how to lay the eggs. How well do you care for the goose?

If you are at all like me, and I think you are, we are very, very hard on the goose. Instead of recognizing all the golden eggs she has laid, and being thankful, we, like the greedy man and woman in the story, expect more, more, more. It is time that we honor the goose and forget about the eggs. If the goose is well cared for, the eggs will come, won’t they! Here are 7 lucky tips for the care and feeding of the golden goose:

1. Take one day off a week from work. The Sabbath is there for a reason, even God rested. “and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested…” Genesis 2:3

2. Feather your own nest. I have the most wonderful bed linens, I feel like a princess every night when I go to bed. I have 2 feather mattresses and a silk, down comforter. I bought them at a discount store we have called, Tuesday Morning. Scour the town for one of your own. You will sink into luxury and know you are special, each and every night.

3. Nurture another golden goose. Identify a friend or a loved one running on fumes. Pick up her kids after school, take over the scout meeting for her, bring her a home-cooked dinner (just double your batch) and leave it on the step. Why do we have to wait until we are struck down with a catastrophic illness or event to reach out to each other? Let’s start a prevention program with our circle of women before the goose is cooked.

4. Feed your spirit daily. Find a quick, easy message that inspires you every day. One way with us is to sign up for the Daily Diva Word, it’s a free, quick pick me up that comes in your email.

5. Turn off the noise. Have a quiet time each day to shift gears. If you work outside of the home, plan just 15 minutes of alone time in your car before you pick the kids up, or rush to the store. Get a great CD or tape and play it, all alone in your car as you change states from employee to mom, wife or sane woman.

6. Become a Teacher. The only way that we ever learn anything new is from someone else. As you begin to value yourself as the Golden Goose you really are, you’ll begin to notice other women struggling to do it all. Share what you have learned with them and what helps you feel good about yourself.

7. Never Mistake the Egg as the Gift. We have become a society that values things more than people. It is often joked, tongue-in-cheek that you are only as good as your last accomplishment. That is the ultimate lie. We are not a collection of the things that we do, the sale that we make, or the goal that is conquered. You are the gift. You are the Golden Goose. The egg is just the last thing you created.

Wherever you are right now in your life, please stop for a moment and hear this truth. The true gold lies not in the outcome or accomplishment, it is in the process of creating. When you give yourself a little space and care for the golden goose inside you, you will once again lay a golden egg. Don’t worry, there is no where to go, you have everything you need for the blissful life you desire. You just forgot where the true gold lives—inside of you.

All the best,
Mauree

PS To help you remember the gold that you are, I’ve created some free postcards for you to download. Two to keep and two to share with another Golden Goose that needs encouragement. Go to www.distinctivelydiva.com/goldenegg.html for the link.

Special thanks to D. L. Ashliman for the translations of Aesop’s Fable, The Golden Goose. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/goldfowl.html#aesopnn