It
is about an ordinary bird who is jaded with his narrowed syllabus of life. With
his tireless gusto for the love of flying, Jonathan Livingston seagull breaks
the boundary of confinement and sets high on what other gulls dread to pursue.
As
to many seagulls, flying is limited only to searching foods and survival but for
Jonathan Livingston seagull, flying means pushing beyond the unknown, conquer fear
and anticipate the adversaries.
However
in his quest to ascend higher, he falls myriad times, sometimes even to the brink
of causing his own life. He gets lambasted for his raw courage, not only from
other seagulls for breaching their conventions but also from his own parents. Eventually
failing to comply with his other colleagues, Jonathan is outcast from the
flock.
Alone
and determined, Jonathan keeps on escalating higher and higher until he is
joined by two other farsighted seagulls. He is pleased to find seagulls of his
type there, and because of his perseverance he earns the title, one in a
million birds. It is in this wisest flock of birds that Jonathan perfects every
move and decides to change the fate of other seagulls, whose syllabus has
always been limited to squawking and finding foods.
With
a positive motive, he glides down to earth to find others like him. Quite
surprisingly, Jonathan conquers hearts of many gulls and gathers his first six
disciples who had been outcast. Later we come to know that Jonathan is the
pinnacle of inspiration for others.
The
story never fails to inspire readers’ till the turn of last page.
Through
the metaphor of the story, the author gives us insights on the importance of
following dreams resolutely whether or not; it runs contrary to the opinions of
others.
Likewise,
all of us have our own “Jonathan Livingston seagull” perched within us. If we
are not wise enough to let our seagull spread its wings wider, we don’t realize
how far we would soar. Perhaps, we might even wake up one day to only repent over our action.
Dream
big, take risk and move out of syllabus often.
