Written by Richard Bach, this is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection.
The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is fed up with the daily squabbles over food and other materialistic pursuits. He wishes to lead a life of passion in the form of flight. However, like all rebels, his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion from his flock. An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities as he leads an idyllic life. He continues to try to learn to fly higher and higher, until he can go higher no more.
One day, Jonathan meets Chiang, who takes up his learning, teching him that the secret is to “begin by knowing that you have already arrived”. This book is spiritual, self-help, entertaining, and challenging all-in-one. Harldly an hour’s read, the messages and the imagery lingers on forever.
Quote: “No, Jonathan, there is no such place. Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect. 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… To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is, he said, you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived…”
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