In a world where everyone strives to become “the gull that flies highest”, people often forget that it’s equally important to fly at low altitudes from time to time. We’ve become so obsessed with revering the admirable feats of society’s Jonathan Livingstons that the beauty of leading a simple life has been lost. Nowadays it’s all about dreaming big and endeavoring to find a grander meaning to life. What all these potential high-flyers fail to realize, however, is that life doesn’t always need to have a bigger meaning. Sometimes life can be simple. While some critics narrow-mindedly argue that such simplicity is pathetic and mundane, such a view is greatly disrespectful to the inexplicable complexities that surround our everyday, ordinary lives. There’s nothing wrong with being a “normal” seagull; it’s just another way of enjoying your finite time on Earth.
What I find rather offensive about Richard Bach’s novel is that it implies that gulls who choose to marry, raise their children in a loving environment, struggle to put food on the table, and live an ordinary life are pitiful, while gulls like Jonathan Livingston, who do not give heed to materialistic needs and search for a grander meaning in life through the mastery of flight, are respectable. Searching for a grander meaning in life and overcoming harsh conditions in order to master a profession is, no doubt, a handsome way of enjoying one’s life for some people. Yet this does not necessarily mean that those without temptations to break through conformity and challenge limitations have meaningless lives. An ordinary seagull’s life is beautiful in its own way. It might not be as extraordinary as that of Jonathan’s, but it’s nonetheless meaningful. Not everyone wishes for greatness. Some choose to lead modest lives without being bound by grandiose dreams or ambitions. If Jonathan Livingston fails to acknowledge this simple truth, then he is a fool.
The normal seagulls that Jonathan deems to be ignorant lead their lives according to their own set of values. They endure great pain to care for their beloved children. They work with tenacity to keep the bellies of their loved ones content. They fight amongst each other, while at times sharing love. Jonathan Livingston will never experience such life’s complexities. He is too constricted inside his divine world that he does not understand the sophistication entwined with simplicity. The gull that flies highest may see the furthest, but it’s the gull that flies lowest that sees most precisely. Gulls like Jonathan Livingston often look too far that they forget what’s going on near around them. Although they gaze at the faraway horizon, they fail to give heed to what’s going on right beneath their feet. Life is full of small yet meaningful moments. Giving birth to a child isn’t an immensely life-changing accomplishment, but it’s meaningful because one can see first-hand the beauty of a newborn baby. Marrying another person isn’t exactly a groundbreaking achievement, but it’s significant because one can experience the most complex of human emotions called love. Yet, the Jonathan Livingstons of this world discard such moments from their interest. Failing to enjoy these small moments while gazing at the far horizon, seeking for a deeper meaning to one’s existence while ignoring the present, is in my opinion, foolhardy.
When looking at the big picture, it’s probably seagulls like Jonathan Livingston, celebrated for their individual creativity and integrity, who will leave their names behind in history textbooks. Yet it’s important to never forget that a picture can’t exist without the harmonious interaction of individual dots and lines. Though these small specks and thin streaks seem insignificant, they are, in their own simple way, a meaningful part of a masterpiece called the world. I see such dots and lines every day, busily running about, toiling to play their respective parts. Firemen, policemen, entrepreneurs, plumbers, farmers, mechanics, teachers, soldiers, shop owners, factory workers, housewives: many of these people don’t embark on a journey to search for a bigger meaning to life. They don’t do so not because they don’t have dreams and ambitions, but because they don’t feel the need for a grander meaning in life. They’re content with what they have. My mother is a housewife who leads a life as ordinary as can be. She manages the household, she takes care of my father, and she tries to provide the best education for my sister and I. She is, in other words, just like Jonathan’s own mother. Yet my mother always says she leads a meaningful life. “I have a caring husband who works hard for his family and two children that love me dearly. What more do I need?” One doesn’t need to necessarily fly high and look far in order to search for a meaning in life. Sometimes the answer is nearby.
Our world is in need of a balance between high-flyers and low-flyers. However contemporary society often tends to undervalue the lives of the low-flyers for being simplistic and unsophisticated. Yet it’s thanks to these ordinary low-flying seagulls that humanity has continued its arduous march to the future. Do not be tricked into believing that those who seem to lead mediocre lives are ignorant and pathetic. There is an inconceivable beauty to living such a simple life. Though the dreams of the “ordinary seagulls” aren’t as grand as that of Jonathan Livingston, they are dreams nonetheless. The divine, the noble, the grand, and the high-flyers aren’t the only beings that live meaningfully.
Thoughts on Everything 