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, exiled, 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. He discovers freedom in isolation. It is then—in solitude with his gifts—that his transformation truly begins.
The book gently agitates the reader to remember their gifts and to commit to them. It reveals at the same time the cost entailed in doing so; estrangement, reddicule and possibly exile. Beyond the immediate costs, however, a transcendental journey await, on which we will find teachers, mentors and a community of people who need no explanation about who we are, and likely understand us more than we understand ourselves. It is on this journey of self-discovery that we become masters.
After many years, Jonathan Livingston Seagul returns to his old community, now glowing with self-realisation and mastery, to share his discoveries and the good news. However, he is seen as the devil incarnate, very much at odds with the prevailing way of life. They do not see him, in much the same way that many artists, prophets and geniuses threaten rather than console us. In the edition I read, the fourth, previously lost chapter completes the story with a hope that would 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 our livelihood. He also reminds us that the icons we mythologise and the figures we worship are themselves like us, with the only difference being that they so dedicated their lives to practice, through which they attained mastery. Above all, Bach invites us to feel, once again, a pulse of magic that courses through all of us — that inner voice that says greatness lives within you.
I dub this precious book an eschatological triumph of the imagination and a timely read.
