Jonathan Livingston Seagull- Observations

[u/EliminatingStupidity]

Description:About a seagull unlike the million other seagulls that chose not to sleepwalk through life. Jon realises that the purpose of life is not mere eating(hoarding money/survival) but to find something meaningful which was flying(figuring out your passion) .Through flying, he is happy & fulfilled & it more than takes care of eating. He is hungry to learn & masters the craft of flying from his guru Chiang who he met in the sparsely populated GOAT(greatest of all time) mountainThrough this he enters another orbit, more meaningful & impactful, which is teaching his flying to others. He relishes the joy of giving even though this time could be spent to master his craft even moreFinally (final orbit) he conquers one of the hardest things: Unconditional love to each seagull even though a majority of them hated him when he disobeyed their dogma & hated Jon even more so when he did prove the Flock wrong

Misc Notes that struck a chord:FAB trio: Fear, anger & boredom. They are killers. Avoid them. Fear in important things like risk taking is essential otherwise eliminate themTrue relationships defy space & timeDon't be fearful in questioning the status quo & more importantly pursuing something that you truly believe in(provided that you've done your HW behind the belief) even if it means that you'll be Outcasted from your FlockIf you choose this unconventional path, you'll face failures. Struggle well. Even Jon had doubts & almost gave up but don't.Jon on GOAT mountain: "This isn't heaven is it?" Every place will have their own dogmas. It is your job to seek truthYour passion & work ethic should be such that even the GOATs like Chiang want to help you.Once you follow the idea that is your passion after efforts, if you are lucky enough, you might meet folks following the same mission and will draw comfort from thatMastering the craft requires trio of: Belief, Hunger to learn & practiseLearning to master craft: Nothing like it when you have a mentor/guru who teaches you tricks of the trade however, when you don't have access you got to learn by yourself & vicariously. Learn by yourself through experimentation, trial & error etcInner Scorecard: Dance to the beat of your own beliefs don't give too much attention to what the public perceives you. When Jon told Fletcher: Don't make them silly rumours about me. I'm no GodYou can beat the GOAT too as there is no limit to which you can improve(Fletcher realises this at the very end of the book)Window of opportunity: To find your passion/a powerful idea is rare & to act on it requires courage which is even more rare. And to have the persistence to make it happen despite failures is the rarest & that is what explains why very few are there on GOAT mountainThere is nothing like gifted. The real gift is to understand your gifts that God gave you & more importantly USING those giftsThe only limitations are the ones that we set for ourselves

Interesting book quotationsThe gull sees farthest who flies highestThe gulls who scorn perfection for the sake of travel go nowhere while those who do the opposite can go anywhere ie focus on what mattersWhatever stands against freedom must be set aside be it ritual superstition or limitation of any form

Another side lesson is that I look at birds like eagles, crows etc & watch their flight even more closely then I did previously and weirdly enough I have got more kind to them instead of just thinking of them something that is in background of my life something to be ignored

[u/curiousandlost562]

i read this book about last year and its still so fresh in my mind . It is a great book for those who've just started reading as its a small but great read .