Soaring in the Heart of a Free Spirit

Who hasn't wanted to fly higher and faster than the rest of the crowd?  It takes tremendous dedication, hard work, and a willingness to walk to the beat of a different drummer.  Society generally rewards conformity, because it is predictable and manageable; but she (or he) who breaks from the pack finds personal rewards far beyond imagining.  Individual spiritual growth carries its own treasures.

This, then, is the basic theme to the novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach.  First published 42 years ago, it had reached the top of the fiction bestsellers lists by 1972, having sold (then) over a million copies.  It has undoubtedly sold several million more in the intervening decades.  Characterized as a "fable of self-perfection" by some reviewers, it was one of the first spiritual, non-denominational books ever read aloud to moi.  I liked Jonathan immediately, because he had much of the feline in him--free spirit, independence, determination, commitment, and spiritual growth--all qualities practically any cat has in abundance.  I put aside the whole predator/prey thing and saw Jonathan as a fellow earth traveller who was searching to become--to be--more than he had been.  Pretty good life's goal, that.

This novella is uplifting on every level.  It is well worth an afternoon's reading delight.



No Winged Dinner Jokes Today,

Cauli Le Chat
MPL Roving Reporter
Readers' Advisory News Beat

P.S.  Neil Diamond composed the beautiful soundtrack to the movie adaptation of Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973).  Here, probably from the film (I've never actually seen it--sorry), is a ten-minute excerpt featuring "The Odyssey" (from the soundtrack).  This album may be Neil Diamond's greatest musical work, although it's difficult to single-out any one of his multitude of fine recordings.