Saturday, April 18, 2015

How A Bird Changed My Life 2



Saturday Evening Posts
April 18-24 Edition

How A Bird Changed My Life 2

Some years later, Bach was awakened by some mysterious force. He took out the unfinished manuscript and started to write.

The story is now complete.

It was quietly published in 1970. The book was so low-key that it was virtually over-looked by major reviewers – but the novel’s success was phenomenal and unprecedented. Jonathan Livingston Seagull soared to the top of the bestseller lists – and stayed there for almost a decade.

Here’s an inexplicable sidelight: The book was categorized under “Non-fiction.” Then again, nothing is more true that “The most important thing in living was to reach out and touch perfection.”

For those who still haven’t read the book – oh boy, you guys don’t know what you’re missing! – it’s essentially the story of talking seagulls. You might say it is an allegory of the highest order.

“Most gulls,” says Bach, “don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it is not eating not mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.”


To Be Continued Next Saturday

Jonathan Aquino's Journals
March 3, 2015, Tuesday

The 1978 classic "I Will Still Love You" by the Canadian rock band Stonebolt is special to me. I'm hearing a revived version on the radio. But the original is what I wrote about it in my story A Special Moment.  This is the one with with the happy memories.


I Will Still Love You
Stonebolt


"When the moon disappears forever, and the sun shines electric blue, 
and the mountains and trees tumble into the sea to rest there for eternity,
no matter what you do, I will still love you..."



6 comments:

Jonathan Aquino said...

Huwebes, ika-16 ng Abril 2015. Akala ko kanina si Dean naging werewolf. Alas-diez kasi ng gabi ang labas ko sa trabaho at nanonood pa ako ng Supernatural sa canteen bago umuwi. Tamang-tama kasi isa sa mga paborito ko yun pero simula bukas bago na naman ang schedule namin. May eksena na nagbabago ang anyo niya at kasunod nun papatayin niya si Sam. Biglang dumating ang tunay na Dean. Hindi pala siya yun. Minsan talaga hindi totoo ang nakikita mo sa panglabas.

Jonathan Aquino said...

Miyerkules, ika-15 ng Abril 2015. Gusto ko makakita ng iniembalsamo, sabi ko sa mga kasamahan ko sa trabaho habang kumakain kami. Ang palabas sa TV sa canteen ay Supernatural na dubbed sa Tagalog. May babae kasi na pinatay ng multo na nakikita lang niya sa salamin at may eksena na pinakita ang bangkay niya sa morgue. Nakaka-relate talaga ako sa mga bida na sina Sam at Dean Winchester. Tulad din nila, marami na rin akong pinagdaanan at kung saan-saan na ako nakarating. Ang buhay ko ay masaya at makulay pero puno rin ng hiwaga at kababalaghan.

Jonathan Aquino said...

Martes, ika-14 ng Abril 2015. Nagtext ang isa sa mga matalik kong kaibigan sa Cebu na mahigit dalawang taon na kami hindi nagkikita. Eto reply ko: Buhay ka pa pala! Kilala mo pa pala ako! Kanina lang nagkita kami ng isa sa mga kasamahan natin nung 2013. Siya pala ang asawa ng isa sa mga katrabaho ko. Maliit talaga ang mundo! Kaya sigurado magkikita pa tayo. Ikaw ang tumulong sa akin na maglipat ng bahay sa Lahug at ang tour guide ko sa Cagayan De Oro at syempre you're my bro kaya special ka sa akin. Kita tayo pero huwag ngayong Sabado kasi may booking ako.

Jonathan Aquino said...

Lunes, ika-13 ng Abril 2015. Ang pinakamatalik kong kaibigan sapul sa pagkabata ay nagtatrabaho sa call center sa Makati kaya gising siya sa gabi. Nagtext siya nang umaga. Good night daw, matutulog na siya. Eto reply ko: Good night. Ay hindi, good morning pala! Tulog ka na, as in matutulog ka na? O tulog ka na, as in nanaginip ka habang nagtetext? Ano pa ang pinipindot mo?

Jonathan Aquino said...

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go." ~ Richard Bach

Jonathan Aquino said...

May mga pinapa-download ako sa isang kaibigan ko kasi meron siyang oras at mas mabilis ang Internet niya. Kapapadala ko lang ng link sa e-mail. Mga kanta. Alaala Mo by White Lies, My Fair Share by Seals And Crofts, Autograph by John Denver, Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins, Birthday Song by Don McLean, Operator by Jim Croce , It's Sad To Belong by England Dan and John Ford Coley, Across The Universe by The Beatles, Simply Jessie by Rex Smith. Meron din mga audio recordings nina Wayne Dyer, Abraham Hicks at theta binaural beat.