Showing posts with label Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Show all posts

Monday, 7 March 2016

March Music Challenge - Day 7

The Day 7  March Music Challenge is to choose a song that reminds you of your childhood. My childhood was filled with music. My mom played the organ, sang at church, and filled our house with hits from Jesus Christ Superstar to Petula Clark's Downtown that she played on a then state-of-the-art record player and sang along to -- it's difficult to pick just one song. For some unknown reason, I have been thinking a lot about the novella and music of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I recently re-read the novella written by Richard Bach and published in 1970, which tells the story of a seagull who becomes disenchanted with the conflict and materialism of his flock. Jonathan follows his passion for flying practicing and perfecting his flying abilities until he finally leaves the flock and is taken to a higher plane where he is mentored by a generous and skilled teacher. Jonathan realizes that his journey is not complete until he can find the forgiveness he needs to return to his original flock and continues his journey towards flight by taking his own students and spreading his wings so to speak. It's a beautiful story of the search for our true passion, self-fulfillment, and teaching and learning. In a truly enlightened situation, the positions of teacher and student constantly shift as the teacher often learns from the student and vice versa.

The soundtrack sung by Neil Diamond is equally moving winning the 1974 Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.


Not the typical childhood song but then I didn't have a typical childhood mom.