Jonathan, Fly Home!

Some Ramblings to do with Skepticism, Dogma, and Perfection in the Book by Richard Bach

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is arguably the most manifestly allegorical book ever published and certainly the most emblematic one involving seagulls. It focuses, first, on the importance of growth unabashed of dishonor; secondly, the impossible idea of achieving perfection through transcending our physical limitations of reality; in the third part, the worthlessness of knowledge when it is not transmitted, when those intellectuals who have acquired it refuse to convey their awareness to those considered more lowly; finally, the inability of the blindly obsequious to attain more than a mere feeling of safety in performed duty, and the need of skepticism to achieve true spiritual enlightenment.

Jonathan's teachings, attesting to the value of the unorthodox and immaterial, soon morph into something surprisingly cult-like; a medium that makes him more a god than a teacher and, therefore, his knowledge unable to be truly heard nor comprehended. He is lost to the worship of the masses and his perception is entirely forsaken.

As horrifyingly catastrophic as this decay is, it is the perfect allegory for the human condition in our constant vertigo of existence. We are torn between the faithful stability of dogma, tradition; and the brutally grueling, yet satisfying progress towards enlightenment. Reason must rise from the ashes of its own destruction; and as soon as the teachings of reason are revered, they are once for engulfed in flame. The perfect portrayal of reason, then, is a phoenix in seagull's clothing. And it must be painstakingly reborn in a cycle of generations. If we would only learn to live in curiosity, to journey through the ramblings of our own paths; instead of blindly submitting to a religious reverence of epiphanies past! We could learn a thousand lifetime's worth in one. Progress would not be so harrowingly stripped down, nor would it be limited to gradual, tipsy steps, nor would it be confined to perfection!

Now, wait, pause a second. Doesn't this book directly state, "Our purpose for living is to find that perfection and show it forth"? Doesn't it shout from its very pages, that perfection has no limits?! It does, and more. But through the paradoxical character Chiang are highlighted the imperfections of "perfection". The mere struggle towards perfection is arguably the most pretentious and futile goal of all. For one thing, the course towards perfection will be sabotaged by failures; riddled with these malfunctions all the way through. If we consider the arrival, not the journey, to perfection to be of the solitary importance; we have already failed. Any point in time or space could be considered an attempt at perfection. If we have failed even once, we are tarnished in our attempts. If we are tarnished, we are wholly unable to be perfect in and of ourselves. "Ex ficus ficum"-- figs from fig trees. We produce what we are. If we have at any point produced imperfection, we ourselves are imperfect.

One could argue, then, that perfection is subjective. However, that statement defeats the logic of its own intended purpose. If perfection is subjective, anyone may believe that I have already achieved it. Therefore, I have no need to strive towards its discovery.

Finally, let's take a look at the effects of this so-called perfection on Chiang himself, based on the description of his reaction to Jonathan's transcendence of the material-- "utterly unimpressed". He has lost his joy in perfection! What is, then, perfection's purpose? It does not satisfy curiosity, nor enable growth. It is the terminal velocity of existence, only surpassable once realized to be yet another limitation of the possible.

No, then, it is not perfection that we should seek out. It is the human desire, but not the human need. Our souls crave the possible-- which, more than perfection, is set with infinite limits. Whereas perfection is rooted in the arrival, possibility is joyous in the journey. This is why it enables us to achieve more; because we never succeed in defining the limits of it.

And so we conclude with a statement of our world today: We are "hemmed now with authority and ritual… strapped now to strangle freedom." I urge you, friends, teachers, fellow travelers on this cosmic journey; not to chain yourself to the worship of perfection, but to set yourself free to the torrents of possibility. And in doing so, you will achieve more than could ever be imagined.

Curious?

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