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.
