Jonathan Livingston Seagull

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By RICHARD BACH

Well well..this has been my latest read. It is unbelievable to find a book as thin as this one to make so much sense! It competes with Who moved my cheese(WMMC) in regards with the no. of pages..but is a sure winner...thanx to the innumerable pictures of the beautiful Seagull! Well if u r wondering wats this Seagull thing...then heres the Curtain raiser for U... A seagull is a bird!( Similar to WMMC again..there the main protoganists were mice :P )

So through the tail err tale of a Seagull, Mr. Bach has taught us some worthy lessons... These are

- Questioning

- Being Fearless

- Practicing

- Quest for Freedom

- Self Belief

- Affection/Love

- Forgiveness

The seagull named Johnathan had always been different. His interests lied in Flying while the members of his community were busy in hunting and fighting for the little food available near the shore. He was scolded by his parents for behaving "differently" and pressurised him to choose an apt future for self. John obliged but he knew his heart lied in flying, n practicing the art to know the limits he could reach. He practiced hard, faultered many a times but ultimatlely corrected and polished his skill. But this more than angered his 'Elders' and the folk and they labelled him as an outcast.

Dejected and hurt, he moved away from his pupil and started practicing in the far lands. Days n Years passed and he could now fly at the terminal velocity. He had acquired the skill of a master and was really happy to be doing what he loved most.
He gathered that it was out of boredom that his other folk had such short life spans while he managed to have a healthy,long life span.

Some more years passed until he was escorted by two extremely skillful gulls to a land where he would find more Outcasts like him. On reaching there, he thought he had entered heaven, but it was a new world where the gulls of similar capabilities as him lived. He was glad to be a part of the world where there was so much to learn and explore. He met an elder named chiang, who tought him to fly with infinite speed,to leave behind the bounderies of space and time that had bound him.Now John himself trained the 'freshers' in the new world and helped them with his knowledge.

Even though John was having a beautiful time he wished he could do something for his folk who still live in ignorance.The people who live to eat n not vice versa ;).
So along with with 7 of his students he decides to travel back to his Old world.The Old World people got umbraged to see an OUTCASTS in their land. A rule was passed of Total Ignorance of The outcasts lest face Outcastism themselves.

The Eight Gulls start practicing everyday n display their mersmerizing flying skills to the other folk.The Folk slowly start getting tempted to the art n secretly ask for lessons. This enrages the Elder folk n they attack John.However, John forgives them as he is affectionate towards his pupil. This makes the folk of his old land make the choice of learning the new skill..to chose freedom over tradition and learning over ignorance.Thousands of the common gulls decide to unravel the facets of flying, something they never dared to explore earlier.

Now John has reached a stage where he has learnt all about kindness, love and affection and hence is invited to another new world...where he would have newer things to learn...and yes a step closer to perfection...a step closer to the real Heaven!

The Poor Rich!

This is a short story I read while scanning through my mail...Wud like to share it with you..

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?""It was great, Dad..." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked."Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

- Sometimes its not about what you make of yourself...its about what u feel for others that teaches you the wisest lessons of life!

Good Day :)