People with Mental Illnesses Enrich Our Lives

Below is a partial list of individuals who have been identified by self or others as having a diagnosis of severe or persistent mental illness.

The Goose Story

Submitted by Nick Marterelli

Author Unknown

A familiar sight and sound in autumn are the geese as they fly over us, heading for their wintering grounds in the sloblands around the coast, flying in a "V" formation. It is interesting to know what science has discovered about why they fly that way.

As each bird flaps its wings it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. (People who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the power and effort of each other.)

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the dragand resistance of trying to do it all alone, and quickly gets into formation to take advantage of the lifting pwoer of the bird community in front. (If we have as much sense as a goosse we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we want to go.)

When the lead goose gets tired, he or she rotates back in the wing and another bird flies point. (It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique combinations of gifts, talents and resources.)

The geese flying south in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. (We need to make sure that our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater.) The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart or core values of others) is the quality of honking we appreciate.

Finally, when a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. (If we have as much sense as geese we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.)



Lucky Like a 4 Leaf Clover

By Nick Marterelli (c) 2003

my mother is my everything
without her by my side
I would probably have nothing

strong, caring and full of hope
her heart bleeds from the pain
so it's too hard to cope

she rode horses when she was young
but when she fell
she always got back on

she always smiled
she was full of life and fun
even climb mountains in the burning sun

so she says she HAD a good life
and with all these problems today
she says, "I give up son"

she carries the world on her shoulder
and with no one out there to help
she gets only colder and colder

before, she had the world at her command
but her family passed away and her friends moved on
feeling like she's getting sucked in by quick sand

her arms are reaching out from the quick sand
but no one's around to help or give her a hand
it's not her fault living on a sinister part of land

but her daughter and son are there with open arm
try to pull her out from under
while keeping her from the evil that swarms

we say get back on that horse
cause the ride isn't over
smart and brave of course

lucky like a 4 leaf clover!