A Commentary About Johnathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a book by Richard Bach that tells the story of a seagull named Jonathan who is on a journey to perfect his flying skills. The book contains many spiritual themes and ideas, and readers may find similarities between its teachings and those of A Course In Miracles. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was written in 1970. This little manuscript became a New York Times bestseller. 

As a young gull, Johnathan did what every other gull did. All day, every day, he would fight other gulls to get the fish scraps thrown off the boats. As he grew older, he’d had enough, there must be a better way to live than this. He started practicing flying. Every day as he practiced more and more, he became quite fast. The other gulls thought he was very strange, and he became an outcast. This didn't matter to Johnathan, at all. He practiced wing trim, spin dives, tail dives and advanced aerodynamics for a bird. He broke the sound barrier and because of his great speed he could dive very deep and capture the best fish. He could also fly very high for tasty insects. He lived to a ripe old age and one day a baby gull flew into his path. He swerved and flew into a cliff at a very high speed. He died. Next, the Great Gull was standing beside him and said, “Well Johnathan, your method of leaving time was a little abrupt, let's continue your training.” He reached the point of thinking of being somewhere and instantly he was there. 

This is my take on this beautiful story.  All of his life, Johnathan strove to achieve perfection in flight. Because of his dedication, he ate better and lived better than all the other gulls. I happen to be a Christian, and I feel this is analogous to a Christian’s life. A little side note, I am a Christian of a different color. I don’t believe Jesus died for my sin to save me from an eternal hell which does not exist. I have and continue to live my life by the standards he set. He lived a perfect life. His only enemies were the religious hierarchy. He was caring, kind, generous, truthful, helpful, forgiving, honest and loving. As we strive to achieve perfection in these traits, we, like Johnathan, live better. If everyone alive today, all 8 billion of us, would simply live by, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”; here's what would happen. We would have no more wars, prisons, poverty, crime, or homelessness. We would have no need for locks or passwords. Doing just that, think about it, it's true.  Bob