Friday, October 9, 2009

Jonathan Livingston Seagull


Of a Different Color
Dear Father by Neil Diamond
Dear Father
We dream
We dream
We dream
While we may
Who are we to need,
We need
We need
While we wait,
While we wait....

I was given this book long ago by a very special person, someone I admired, and respected a great deal. When I picked it up the other day to reread it almost 35 years later, I questioned a couple of things about the book and the giver.

First what it was about the book that made it special to the person who gave it to me.... I never asked!

And what was it that he hoped I would learn or feel from reading it?

The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with the daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying, until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion from his flock. An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities as he leads an idyllic life, he thinks!!!! But what he eventually learns is that love, deserved respect, and forgiveness all seem to be equally important to freedom.

AND DREAMS LIVED AND THINGS LEARNED ARE TO SHARE!

I loved the book when I read it as a young naive 17 year old with great dreams and much hope for the future. Now as I look back at its underlying meaning, I am sure of one thing, we see things differently when we are older and hopefully wiser. As I am always open to new possibilities and still have dreams for the future (yes, even at 52), it is what I have learned to this point that I can share with others to help them realize their dreams! Maybe that is what he was trying to share????

Dreaming of a new place to soar, a new opportunity and a JOYFUL new path for my family! Just a dream at present, but could become a reality! And yes I am a Seagull of a different Color! In more ways than one!

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