Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a bird that will not accept boundaries in life, nor limitations on his abilities, nor the
fact that seagulls cannot fly at night.
For his rash rolls, dives, and low level flights, Jonathan is shamed and cast out of his flock and grows old in exile until he ‘ascends’. For a time he stays with a group of brilliant-white, enlightened gulls, who take his body and consciousness beyond anything he already understands. Jonathan then
decides he cannot exist with this awesome knowledge and not share it with others, so he decides to return to his flock.
He finds students and disciples them, though it takes more than he anticipates to convince them they possess the ability to travel through time and space at will. But finally his protégé manages to fly through solid rock and Jonathan knows he’s got his
message through, that there are no limitations to the mind.
Jonathan’s message to his flock as he teaches them is one of perseverance and practice and straining towards the goal of perfection. He also wants them to know that this can only be achieved through the sacrifice of love— after all, if he hadn’t come back to those who cast him out, they would all still be flapping around in ignorance and hunger.
When Jonathan leaves, he charges his followers to continue as he has taught them, and then to go out to others with his message.
This short story was written in 1970 and is told in the constant motion of flight. It gives the reader wings to move to a different perspective in life and take an inside-out look at the way things are. It is a story, ultimately, of the renewal of the mind.