Business is widely regarded as a secular activity, governed by the principles of supply and demand. Spirituality is shelved as a private matter to be practised at home or church.
Richard Bach challenges this idea by delicately revealing the connection between everyday practice and personal realisation. He invites us into the world of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, an ordinary seagull who, for whatever reason, cannot help but want to perfect his flying.
When he accomplishes speeds that no other seagull has seen before, he is summoned by the Flock and banished for breaking tradition. In the depths of despair, alone, he realises that he is free to fly as much as he likes, to strive for perfection, and to become the best he can be.
It is then—in solitude with his gifts—that his transformation truly begins. However, the book quickly descends into a tragedy we are all familiar with, but would rather not mention, lest we too become outcasts.
In the edition I read, the fourth, previously lost, chapter completes the story with a hope that can turn the heaviest of hearts into a feather, ready to soar like Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Richard Bach redeems us from the idea that practising our craft is a ball and chain, fastened to the pursuit of sustenance. He also reminds us further that those to whom we raise worship and mythologise are themselves like us, with the only difference being that they dedicated themselves to practice. Above all, Bach invites us to hear, once again, a pulse of magic that courses through all of us
I dub this precious book an eschatological triumph of the imagination and a timely read.
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