How to Make Life More Meaningful. Or Set an Intention to Be Free

Inspired by Jonathan Lingston Seagull book

Credit to Atlantios on Pixabay

When it comes to living your dream life, I believe, number one attribute is freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom to be who you are, freedom to do what you love, and freedom to be able to stay in the now and enjoy the present moment, not fretting about the obscure future.

The topic of freedom, to my mind, is best illuminated in Richard Bach’s book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, where the author through the eyes of the main character Jonathan, shows his journey of finding his purpose and a higher level of understanding of life and its meaning, which ultimately leads him to freedom.

Jonathan Livingston is no ordinary bird. Unlike other seagulls, who live to eat, he feels there is more to life than a tedious fight for the scarps of fish off the fishing boats.

He sets his life on a mission to master the art of flying. Livingston relentlessly practices flying techniques with loops, upstrokes and dives, developing his speed and gliding. There is a lot of room for faltering, stalling, and tumbling in his flying routine… Many times, he sacrifices his efforts of fighting for food for the sake of practising. His peers meet his endless flying practice with judgement, disapproval, and contempt, making him question at times the soundness of his dream for flying. However, his quest for freedom prevails, and his dream mutes the annoying sound of naysayers.

Eventually, Jonathan is expelled from the flock for his outrageous behaviour of breaking the flock’s code.

Being on his own, he devotes all his time to flying. Jonathan becomes the fastest seagull alive, embracing the glory of life and freedom full on. He discovers that his streamlined high-speed dives give him access to a better and tastier fish, so he doesn’t need stale bread and fish heads for survival.

Isn’t it amazing what life gives to you, if you are willing to pursue your dreams despite the challenges? His initial sacrifice of food for practise becomes so abundantly rewarded.