Toward the end of the book Jonathan has returned from his training and has now been charged with teaching other gulls in the flock the lessons he had learned. During one conversation with Fletcher Gull, Jonathan turns to Fletcher and asks him, “Fletcher, do you want to fly?”
Fletcher’s response was, “YES, I WANT TO FLY!”
Each day as I travel and listen to the stories of people I hear them talk about their desire to succeed, but then, return to the trap they have created for their life. This trap is what keeps them a prisoner whose chatter is about “what they are going to do” or “desire to do,” not about what they are “willing to do.”
The difference between the two is one’s behavior. Words have no power without behaviors that define the words with positive action. The challenge for most is finding a balance between what they are saying and what they are doing. If there is not the balance between the two, there is only confusion that continues to fill them with a lack of hope and the feeling they can’t achieve their stated dream. The result is disappointment, despair and depression.
So my question is, “Do You Want To Fly?” Is there a life that you desire that is beyond where you are right now? Is there an inner desire that hasn’t been reached yet?
To explore this question let’s start by seeking to understand what holds most people a prisoner in their own life. How does one create limitations for their life?
First, they lack a strong foundation of self worth. When doubt takes over, the things a person has believed about their life go under the microscope.
There is a passage in Jonathan Livingston Seagull that shows what happens. There were so many things Jonathan wanted to know; there were so many things he wanted to explore. One of those was how some birds flew with such speed and could make such sharp turns at that high speed. One day out beyond the shore he was practicing speed when he tried to make a sharp turn and lost control. The result was him crashing into the ocean. Here is the passage from the book.
As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed, I’d have a falcon’s short wings, and live on mice instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness. I must fly home to the Flock and be content as I am, as a poor limited seagull.
When doubt becomes the lens through which one defines who they are, they will filter life through what went wrong. When that happens, they will see adventure as foolishness and start allowing others to define their presence. In that design they stop taking risk and start accepting sameness as a way of life.
What creates the personal limitations? One’s imagination gets buried under emotional conflict. It is interesting how the inner part of life operates. Either your mind or your emotions are in control of the sight plan one uses for understanding what is happening in their life. When emotions are the dictionary, the words are laced in doubt, worry and uncertainty. When one’s imagination is the filtering system, the picture is drawn in calmness, clarity and personal confidence. Let’s go back to Jonathan for a moment.
He pushed wearily away from the dark water and flew toward the land, grateful for what he had learned about work-saving low-altitude flying. But no, he thought. I am done with the way I was, I am done with everything I learned. I am a seagull like every other seagull, and I will fly like one.
How powerful are one’s emotions? They are powerful enough to shut down their imagination and put learning in a closed file cabinet. What a loss!
What creates personal limitations? Momentum gets dammed up. How important is the flow of energy to keeping one’s life flowing with clarity and purpose? When the energy stops, so does the ability to see beyond the present moment. The result is a form of mental blindness where life happens, but the meaning of the event gets lost. Let’s go back to Jonathan.
The gulls were flocked into the Council Gathering when he landed, and apparently had been so flocked for some time. They were, in fact, waiting.
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull! Stand to Center!” The Elder’s words sounded in a voice of highest ceremony. Stand to Center meant only great shame or great honor.
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” said the Elder,” Stand to Center for Shame in the sight of your fellow gulls!”
It felt like being hit with a board. His knees went weak, his feathers sagged, there was roaring in his ears. Centered for shame? Impossible! The Breakthrough! They can’t understand! They’re wrong, they’re wrong!
Ever been there? Ever had the wind sucked out of your dream? What happens to one’s energy, one’s momentum? It gets dammed up.
What creates personal limitations? Investment of energy feeds one’s confusion. Can you see in the passage above where Jonathan was confused? Here he had dedicated himself to learning in order to help other gulls see beyond their limited way of living. He just wanted to help everyone have a better life, BUT for some reason they didn’t want it. He really didn’t understand; how could they be satisfied living in sameness?
Don’t ever forget my concept of choice. Each day one only has two choices for a day of their life. One either chooses to feed their confusion or strengthen their clarity. Their choice creates the life they have to live.
What creates personal limitations? One’s feet are made of lead and their ears are filled with wax. Listening and implementing are two of the most important ingredients for learning to fly. If one doesn’t learn or learns and doesn’t implement what they have learned, they are trapped in a world that steals life, not creates life. Listen to what Jonathan told the Council.
Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live—to learn, to discover, to be free! Give me one chance, let me show you what I’ve found.
The flock might as well have been stone.
“The Brotherhood is broken,” the gulls intoned together, and with one accord they solemnly closed their ears and turned their backs upon him.
Do you have any idea how many people I have met like this? They talk about growth, but when the opportunity is presented to them and it requires they break free of their old patterns of sameness, they reject the new pathway. What a life of confusion they have designed! What a waste of human talent.
So, back to my question – DO YOU WANT TO FLY? If your answer is YES, there are three steps you must learn and dedicate yourself to consistently implementing.
First, your niche’ where your talent and passion connect. Everyone has talent; everyone has a niche’ that will allow them to strengthen their talent. When one’s talent is being strengthened, their passion will soar! Listen to Jonathan. He had arrived in a world where learning and growing was the purpose of being there. Here he was free to ask questions, to experiment without criticism, to push himself.
As the days went past, Jonathan found himself thinking time and again about Earth from which he had come. If he had known there just a tenth, just a hundredth, of what he knew here, how much more life would have meant.
For in spite of his lonely past, Jonathan Seagull was born to be an instructor, and his own way of demonstrating love was to give something of the truth that he had seen to a gull who asked only a chance to see truth for himself.
When one’s knowledge and passion come together they create a presence of impact. At that point, They Are Free To Fly!
Second, let your imagination fly. When one’s imagination is free to fly, there is no limit to what they can achieve. Too many have the imagination, but are not part of an environment where they feel free to stretch and challenge without criticism. There are many who are fearful of those who have a strong imagination and want to break free of sameness and see what life really holds for them. They use guilt, criticism and negative attacks to control their free flight.
Chiang was Jonathan’s instructor in his new environment. He was what Jonathan had been searching for, but couldn’t find in a world trapped in the Circle of Sameness. Here is what Chiang told Jonathan on one occasion.
Chiang spoke slowly and watched the younger gull ever so carefully. “To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is,” he said, “you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived…”
If one can’t see the pathway to the achievement of their dream, the chances are they won’t get there. They must begin with the end in focus. They must believe this is their journey; that they have the talent to make it happen and be willing to commit totally to getting there.
To Fly, one must see yesterday as a reference library, not a room to live in.
For the majority of people, they can’t stand in today because they have never stepped out of yesterday. As long as today is a repeat of yesterday, they are trapped and forced to go in circles that keep taking them back to where and who they were. To Fly one must see yesterday as the classroom of lessons they can implement in today in order to be free to soar beyond and achieve what they were placed on this earth to achieve.
The gull see farthest who flies highest.
What a powerful statement. When one is willing to stand in today and implement the lessons of yesterday, they can see beyond the horizon! That means they are not limited; they are not restricted in thought; they are not trapped in sameness. They are free to fly!
DO YOU WANT TO FLY?
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a story
Author: Richard Bach
ISBN: 0-684-84684-5 |
