ART SPEAKS ~

Today I sat with an elderly lady, whose husband passed away this summer.  She had been married to him for a very, very, long time. Over 60 years!
A friend of hers sent her a sympathy card with Danny Hahlbohm`s painting called ``Welcome Home``.

As I was talking to her - in order to find out how she was coping - she got up from her little chair and shuffled across the floor to find that special card. She sorted through several cards and when she located the one she was looking for she brought it to me where I was sitting, on the edge of her bed. ``Look``  she said, pointing to Jesus hugging the man, ``That is my husband.  Jesus is welcoming my husband into Heaven.``  and then she wept outloud as she told me how much she missed her husband and that she knew he was in a wonderful place but she missed him so.  I looked at the card and turned it over.  There was writing on the back of the card so I began to read out loud to her what it said: 

``The turning point in Danny Richard Hahlbohm`s personal and professional ife was his acceptance of the Lord. A native of Long Island, Danny enlisted in the armed forces in 1968 and was sent overseas. Toward the end of his tour of duty, he received a miracle from God and became a devoted Christian.  After being honorably discharged and returning to the states in 1972, he decided to use his artistic talents to honour God and spread HIS Word. - Inspired by Mary Stevenson`s 1939 poem, Danny`s painting ``Footprints in the Sand`` was published in 1979.   - Danny is quick to point out that the Lord has been the true Artist throughout his life.``

The elderly lady looked at me and said, ``That`s just what that picture did for me, it spread the message of Hope.  Everytime I look at that picture, I am comforted.``   I also read to her from her bible by her bedside and then we prayed.  When I left her room, she was comforted, not only from the picture on the card, but by knowing what the Artist`s purpose was for the paintings and it was exaclty what she just experienced.  To give glory to God in expressing a truth and to bring revelation and hope.

Searan~

THE POWER OF FICTIONAL WRITING.

Even thought this story JLS, is inspirational the story line is about a lone seagull who goes from being with the flock to suddenly leaving his flock, in order to take up with some different kind of birds. (that mentor Jonathan) I find it strange I never read this famous book from the 70's.

Jonathan had to fight the pressures of socitety [the norms' of acceptance in fitting in] to finding his own niche in his life.  Something so meaningful and took on a personal meaning to him.  He found his passion.  Is that not what we are exhorted to do.  What is your passion.  Your message you live and carry!


The controversy was that it was giving a spiritual lesson to millions of readers [see the power of writing!] Christians apparently were offended by the book because a fictional story was being used as a spiritual guide for so many. Just like many other fictional books today. The biggest kicker was that Jonathan [the seagull] actually ascended into a heavenly realm without having to go through the suffering and death that is the foundation of their religious beliefs. Most interesting.

Because Jonathan spends so much time perfecting his flying form, [prophetic] instead of concentrating on getting food, [the Word] a seagull is ostracized by the rest of the flock.
 
Excerpts like: "Then, as he spoke, his feathers went brighter and brighter and at last turned so brilliant that no gull could look upon him." upset Christians.   I think of Moses who went up high in the mountain top to be with God and came down with his face glowing so brilliant he had to veil his face.


Jonathan's parting words grasps the heart and soul  "Keep working on love!"

Bach, the author, takes us up in the air and teaches our spirits to fly, showing that people don't need airplanes to soar....ahhhh  that is happening in the Body of Christ today...

"This short story tells the about the hidden truths behind the daily chores of our lives... that we undertake without the slightest thought provocation. The story is an excellent morale booster and acts as a guiding light for anyone who is wanting and committed to progress to the next level in the ladder of life, be it with your work place, your private life, spirituality... anything... you can relate the book to it, and it will turn out to be an eyeopener... as you start to think about the experiences that you can relate to the book. The primary aim of the book is to get the best out of you, in any field, because if one looks under the several layers of things that we are playing upon, it all boils down to the hidden punch line of this book..."[McKenzie Study Center] 

There is a message in the story to encouraging yourself and to be strong and courageous, to go onward,
and forward, and upward,  when things are tough, hard and sometimes appear bad.  Interpretation belongs to each personal reader.

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull was one very frustrated bird. More than anything Jonathan wanted to fly fast--the faster, the better. But he had a problem: he was a seagull, and seagulls have certain physical limitations; at best, they can only fly fifteen to twenty miles per hour. After struggling for quite some time to fly faster than a normal seagull, Jonathan discovered a secret that enabled him to go beyond his physical limitations. He learned to press "power" into his wings with his mind.``  Press in, have faith, only belive, don't doubt...  ``He perfected this technique, his body seemed to change before his very eyes: he began to glow, and he could fly faster than he had ever imagined. Jonathan soon met other seagulls like himself and learned more secrets.``  Perhaps these are the other prophets..  just throwing that out there. ``He learned to stop thinking of himself as trapped inside a limited body with a forty-two inch wingspan. He began to understand that his true nature lived everywhere at once, across space and time. Jonathan knew no limits. He could go anywhere he wanted--the past, the future--whenever he wanted, as fast as he wanted.``
Oh wow and we are hearing and seeing that being taught in the body of Christ today... "COME UP HERE"  


The story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull illustrates many of our culture's beliefs about spirituality. And many in the evangelical community share those beliefs. They believe that God has given them the Holy Spirit, who is always there for us to empower us to rise above their moral and spiritual limitations.

The book doesn`t hold the TRUTH or all truths,  but it does hold some truths. 
And let us not lose sight that it is a fictional story  - which bring me back to my orignial thought - ``Wow, see the power that even fictional writing has on people!``

I rather enjoyed this! 
I will remember this next time I am studing seagulls! 

Searan

P.S. Yes, that is my picture I took of the seagull`s eye.  It has been formated in special effects on my Microsoft Photo Editor. 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan was not an ordinary seagull. For a thousand years, seagulls have spent their whole life on scrambling after fish heads. But Jonathan saw something different. He thought that life should not be just eating and fighting, even seagulls should have a reason to live. For him, his meaning of life is to fly. We all wish that we could spend all our time on doing things we like, just as Jonathan spent all his time on his beloved flight. However, the success in finding his meaning of life didn't bring with him any honor, but caused him to be an object of shame and irresponsibility, and to be banished due to his neglect to finding food.

After having been banished, Jonathan was full time practicing flying and made great progress. He thought he had found his own heaven, and wondered why there are so few seagulls enjoying themselves in the heaven; "heaven should be flocked with gulls!" Therefore, besides finding his own meaning of life, he eventually returned to the place that once had expelled him, and help the fellows there to find their purpose of life. This is what I like most in the story. "You don't love hatred and evil...you have to practise and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it themselves" Jonathan was unselfish and lenient. He wasn't hostile to those who forced him out of his homeland, on the contrary, he learned to love them and help them. To forgive and love your enemy is even more difficult than finding the meaning of life, but Jonathan, a little seagull, managed to act it out.


While Jonathan carried on practising, he found out that" this world isn't heaven at all". Heaven is being perfect, is not limited by time and space..."there is no such place". So, heaven is somewhere that we can never step out foot in. Very often, people do their best longing for the best result, they like to be perfect and try their best to be perfect. They have an idea of heaven in their mind and are upset all the time because they can never achieve it, we all have too many flaws. Since human beings are born to be flawed, heaven, being perfect, isn't a place we belong to.

To a certain degree, I feel worried for Jonathan and those who spend their whole life on "looking for meaning". Jonathan was no doubt, a very splendid case, but how many Jonathan Livingston seagulls are there in the world? Jonathan succeeded, because he was extraordinary, he was gifted. For ordinary people, we all have limitations. It's not possible for us to turn a blind eye to our actual ability. Otherwise, you would only repeat trial and failure thousands and millions time. And at the end, who suffers? Even if you don't feel anything about that, unconsciously, your "resolution" has already cost you a lot of time, or even your whole life. Devoting too much to what you consider as meaningful is sometimes like taking a fatal risk.

If we understand this concept, then we certainly won't agree with this: "Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation..." Can we really do that? If we don't trust our eyes, what can we trust upon? We learned from setbacks and failure, we are too familiar with our own strength, we all know about our limitations because they are all just lying before our eyes. So how can we possibly act out that "aphorism"? Why can't we just accept the way we are rather than pushing ourselves to extreme and suffer?


To me, this quote is best for people to get over their failure, to console themselves, to help them feel better, just as someone said "experience is the name everybody gives to their mistakes". However, the solution to completely root out this problem is: to admit your limitation, to love your flaw, and to bring your goal from heaven back to earth.


"Why, Jon, why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can't you leave flying to the pelicans, the albatross? Why don't you eat? Jon, you're bone and feathers!" this was what Jonathan's mother told him. To be honest, I completely agree with her. Why is it so hard to go with the flow? Making something totally different from what we are now having is a harsh task, not only to the advocate, but also to the rest of the society. It's hard to change what has been defined as convention, what you have believed in for so long, and you may not even want to take the trouble to change. All these would only spoil the harmony of the society. We are all bone and flesh, we won't be staying in this world long. The why should we try to disturb the peace and quietness of this world? Why not make the world an easier place for everyone to live in? To bring about new idea and reform doesn't necessarily do good to us, conflicts are aroused especially when the newly introduced concept is against the original one... What is shown in this story is a very ideal case. Somehow, human beings are not seagulls.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is similar to Tuesdays with Morrie as well as many other books. All of them try hard to remind people that living is not existing, it should have meaning and love, which can give you happiness that substantial material can never buy. With all these everyday lectures, these books sell over millions of copies! But actually, how many people can really apply them in reality? We all have heard of them before we read these books, and after reading them we only hear one more time on the same topic out of a thousand. I understand what the author wants to convey but I simply cannot agree with him. Sometimes, we can do things without meaning. Life is actually a good example. Why do we need to live? Even if we are not here, the world can still take care of itself. Even if you don't get a purpose for your life, it doesn't affect your health...Whether you act with meaning or not, you all face the same fate in the end, so does it really matter so much what you have done during your lifetime? Nevertheless, without a goal, you won't persist in so many things, you know when you can give up, when to relax, when to be lighthearted...the biggest reward you have is an easier life.

Okay, Now that I have finally read JLS,  I will think about my response to this and reply next blog.....

                                                                       

 

Beach times this summer were few and far between but I did manage to get there four times. For me, that is not acceptable. I used to live a few minutes from Long Point.  Several days a week would be spent at the beach with my three children. My husband also grew up in the area so when we go camping that is our first choice.  You have to like sand though - it is sandy camping, which I love.  This year friends of ours introduced us to the Pinery, close to Grand Bend. The Pinery has an amazing beach as well.

This summer,  I seemed to have a morbid facination with seagulls.  Sitting on the beach absorbing wind, waves and hot sun, I spent much of my time studying and watching the behaviours of the Seagulls.

Walking, flying, fighting, swimming, and begging. Whatever they did they amused me.  I have over a hundred photo shots of seagulls. [I am wondering if that is a slight exageration] I really want to do something special with the photos but I am not sure what. I really am enjoying studying these birds and their behaviours. Their persistence, pestering and extremely brazen exploration and cocky little ways of begging, stealing and sneaking up on you to steal a crumb.  They are fun to watch.

I know there was some controversy over the story "Johnathan Livingston Seagull"  I am not sure what the controversy was but I think I will find a copy and read it for myself.  Just for fun ~

This was pretty random but hey - that's me!

Searan~