Top 25 growth books - III

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Richard Bach

This book is not about richness in money wealth but about richness in life.

This is the story of a seagull named Jonathan.

Jonathan is bored with the usual life of a seagull catching fish and squabbling over food. He loves to fly and is determined to master all about the art of flying. He wants to soar above the clouds and beyond. Now this is against the rule of the tribe, so Jonathan is outcast from the flock. His banishment turns out to be a blessing as he is now able to explore flying freely. He continues to learn to fly, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities as he leads a peaceful and happy life.

One day, Jonathan is met by two gulls who take him to a "higher plane of existence" in which there is no heaven but a better world found through perfection of knowledge. There he meets other gulls who love to fly. He discovers that his sheer tenacity and desire to learn makes him "pretty well a one-in-a-million bird." In this new place, Jonathan befriends the wisest gull, Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning, teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the Universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to "begin by knowing that you have already arrived." Not satisfied with his new life, Jonathan returns to Earth to find others like him, to bring them his learning and to spread his love for flight. His mission is successful, gathering around him others who have been outlawed for not conforming. Ultimately, the very first of his students, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, becomes a teacher in his own right, and Jonathan leaves to teach other flocks.

Richard David Bach, is an American writer.  Bach is noted for his love of aviation and for his books related to flying in a metaphorical context. This book was published in 1970. It is considered to be one of the 50 timeless classics in spiritual development.

Namaste

Prabir