Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Soar to heights you never imagined!

“We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.” 

Richard Bach.

Would you like to read a book which will take less than one hour that makes you pause and think every now and then? Would you like to read about dedication, mastery, and perseverance? I suggest Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It is a story of unrivaled aspiration and uttermost inquisitiveness. Best sellers never attracted me. This book remains an exception to that. It can be regarded as timeless and it is worth reading more than once and has profound textual and pictorial details.

Jonathan was different from other seagulls. It was not eating that mattered to him. He insisted on doing something which the other seagulls have never done. A different pattern of flying. He tries different methods and combinations of flight. Jonathan just wanted to know, to reach out to heights. His parents and other sea gulls in his clan despised his outlook. They wanted him to be like other gulls. He was treated as an outcast. But nothing took away his desire to soar to heights. He stuck on to his passion to fly. He was expelled from his colony. But he tried to soar more and more. He chased his dream to fly. He conquered heights. Trained other gulls from his flock who were expelled too, like him. His learning never stopped. He proved that there are no limits.

“His sorrow was not solitude, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see.”

(Richard Bach, 2006, 25)

I was skeptical about the book at first, but the book totally changed my perception about learning and courage. Knowing is a great feeling. Striving for something passionate is wonderful. And everything can be conquered finally with patience and skill. Rationale and out of the box thinking is considered bizarre and antisocial more often. This book proves it wrong. Those who are dubious about their abilities should certainly read it. And I would reiterate that the time you spend reading this short book is a time very well spend. Read this book in its entirety and feel the power. 

Follow your heart.

Embrace your passion.

Master your mind to conquer heights.

Never say No to learning.

Take up the challenge.

Below is a painting I did some years back inspired by the book.

Disconnected Dreams

“You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.” 

Richard Bach.