NOTE: The one thing that we are capable of doing that no one can take away from us is the attitude we choose to take to our day. Why not begin each day by announcing to the world, “I’m going to have a great day.” Don’t waste a moment on a pity party. Don’t waste a moment feeling sorry for yourself. It’s going to be a great day, grab hold of it and don’t let go.
Jonathon Livingston Seagull seeks to fly like no other seagull has ever flown. He’s getting discouraged.
“As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him there’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains if I were meant to fly at speed, I’d have a falcon’s sharp wings, and live on mice instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness I must fly home to the flock and be content as I am, as they poor limited seagull.”
Note: it is easy to get discouraged. We’ve all been there. We may have tried to lose weight and it didn’t come off as fast as we wanted, and we get discouraged. We may have tried to exercise more but found it difficult and we got discouraged and gave up. We may have tried for a new job, and we didn’t get it and we got discouraged and decided this is as far as we can go. Well, that’s all nonsense. As we read on in this book we’ll discover that it is nonsense. When the Blues come and visit you and tell you to give up, speak out loud to them and tell them not to lift the door hit them in them in the ass when they leave because they will leave if we do not pay attention to them.
“I cannot go to school today,”
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
“I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I’m going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox
And there’s one more—that’s seventeen,
And don’t you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut—my eyes are blue—
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I’m sure that my left leg is broke—
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button’s caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained,
My ‘pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow’s bent, my spine ain’t straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is—what?
What’s that? What’s that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G’bye, I’m going out to play!”
“Why am I afraid to dance, I who love music and rhythm and grace and song and laughter? Why am I afraid to live, I who love life and the beauty of flesh and the living colors of the earth and sky and sea? Why am I afraid to love, I who love love?” ~ Eugene O’Neill
NOTE: If you’re waiting to enjoy life, one day it will be too late. You’ll have lived without ever having lived. Enjoy the dance of life. Enjoy all the wonderful things life has to offer. A day spent not enjoying life is a day that can never be recaptured. ENJOY LIFE NOW!
Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection on Richard Bach’s, Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
“Why, Jon, why?” His mother asked. “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, John? Why can’t you leave low flying to the Pelicans, the albatross? Why don’t you eat? Son, your bone and feathers!”
“I don’t mind being bone and feathers, mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know.”
“. . . This flying business is all very well, but you can’t eat a glide, you know. Don’t you forget the reason you fly is to eat.
Note: We hear the words, “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock” throughout our lives if we try to be different. If we try to be different in the workplace people question us. If we are the only person to ask why, people will look at us and wonder what is wrong perhaps we need a psychological evaluation. It takes courage to move away from the crowd. It takes courage to be an independent thinker and to act on what one believes is the correct course of action. Great ideas usually don’t come from the group, they come from the edge where group members seldom visit.
Joe: “I got fired because my boss didn’t like my excuse for being late.”
Pete: “What did you say?”
Joe: “I said, “I was doing an online search for a new job and lost track of the time.”
