This is a compilation of thoughts and quotes that I have found or written recently, as well as many that I've collected throughout the years. Most thoughts are posted randomly, as I feel inspired. A listing of quotes can be found alphabetically (check the 2008 and 2009 archives listing), or by source.

Feel free to suggest additions!


“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Summary and Quotes

Excerpts from the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach: 
(photo by Ken R. Young)

"Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again. More than anything else Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly. 

After failing several times to improve his flight, and crashing into the water, he sank low. The weight of failure was heavy on his back. He vowed he would forget this foolishness and be a normal gull. 

Discovering the key to overcoming his failures (adapting his wingspan to that of a falcon’s short wings), he tried again and succeeded! The speed was power, the speed was joy and the speed was pure beauty. His vows of a moment before were swept away. Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary. One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that kind of promise. 

How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s a reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly! 

Jonathan discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short. 

The most important thing in living was to reach out and touch perfection in that which he most loved to do. 

Proverb: 'The gull sees farthest who flies highest'. 

The only difference between the normal gull and those who seem special and gifted is that they have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practice it."


Message: 

     Find your flight to perfection.  Be the best at whatever you do.

Oprah Winfrey Quotes

1. Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.

2. Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.

3. Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.

4. Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself.

5. If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit.

6. Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.

7. My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.

8. Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.

9. Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.

10. The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.

11. The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

12. The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.

13. The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.

14. Turn your wounds into wisdom.

15. Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.

16. Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.

17. What God intended for you goes far beyond anything you can imagine.

18. Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.

19. You CAN have it all. You just can't have it all at once.

20. The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.