"There is no such place as far away"

An adventure of separation, distance and presence, of being fellow-adventurers on the great journey of life and most of all on escaping the limitations of storytelling and box systems.

One of my favorite authors, Richard Bach, has written the book: ” There is no such place as far away ” An adventure of separation, distance and presence, of being fellow-adventurers on the great journey of life and most of all on escaping the limitations of storytelling and box systems.

I have read this wonderful book several times, and as I recently rediscovered it, I feel that the celebration ceremony of letting go of adopted norms hits the spot during this transformation time. This is why you get this extract:

Richard Bach himself is the narrator, and he was invited to celebrate Little Rae’s five year birthday. They live far apart and eagerly he embarked the journey.

First he flew with Hummingbird, who was friendly as ever, yet when he told him that Little Rae was growing up and he was going to her birthday party with a present, he was puzzled. They flew a long while in silence and at last Humingbird said: “I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand that you are going to the party.”

“Of course I am going to the party,” he said. ”What is so hard to understand about that?” Hummingbird was quiet, and when they arrived at the owl’s home, it said, “Can miles truly separate us from friends? If you want to be with Rae – aren’t you already there? ”

“Little Rae is growing up and I am going to her birthday party with a present,” he told the owl. It felt strange to say going like that, after talking to Hummingbird, but he said it that way so Owl would understand. He, too flew in silence for a long time. It was a friendly silence, but as he delivered him safely to the home of the eagle, he said: ”I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand that you call your friend little.”

“Of course she is little” he said. “because she is not grown up. What is so hard to understand about that?” Owl looked at him with his deep amber eyes, smiled and said, “Think about that.”

“Little Rae is growing up and I am going to her birthday party with a present,” he said to Eagle. It felt strange to say going and little after talking with Hummingbird and Owl, but he said it that way so Eagle would understand. They flew together out over the mountains and soared the mountain winds. At last she said, “I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand this word birthday.”

“Of course birthday,” he said. ”We are going to celebrate the hour that Rae began and before which she was not. What is so hard to understand about that?”

Eagle curved her wings into steep dive-flaps and stepped to a smooth landing on the desert sand. “A time before Rae’s life began? Don’t you think rather that is Rae’s life that began before time ever was?”

“Little Rae is growing up and I am going to her birthday party with a present,” he said to Hawk. It felt strange to say going and little and birthday after talking with Hummingbird and Owl, and Eagle, but he said it that way so the hawk would understand.

The dessert poured by far below them and at last she said, ”You know, I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand growing up.”

“Of course, growing up,” he said. ”Rae is closer to being adult, one more year away from being a child. What is so hard to understand about that?”

Hawk landed at last upon a lonely beach. “One more year away from being a child? That does not sound like growing! ” And she lifted into the air and was gone.

Seagull, he knew, was very wise. As he flew with him, he thought very carefully and chose words so that when he spoke, he would know he had been learning.

“Seagull,” he said at last, ”why do you fly me to Rae when you know in truth that I am already with her?”

Seagull turned down over the sea, over the hills, over the streets, and landed gently on the roof of Rae’s house. “Because the important thing,” he said, ”is for you to know that truth. Until you know it, until you truly understand it, you can show it only in smaller ways, and with outside help, from machines,and people and birds. But remember,” he said, ”that not being known does not stop the truth from being true.” And he was gone.

Arriving at the birthday party, he says to Rae: “Now is the time to open your present. Gifts of tin and glass wear out in a day and are gone. But I have a better gift for you. It is a ring for you to wear. It sparkles with a special light and cannot be taken away by anyone, it cannot be destroyed. You are the only one in all the world, who can see the ring, that I give you today, as I was the only one, who could see it, when it was mine.

Your ring gives you a new power. Wearing it, you can lift yourself into the wings of all the birds that fly, you can see through their golden eyes, you can touch the wind, that sweeps through their velvet feathers, you can know the joy of going way up high above the world and all its cares. You can stay as long as you want past the night, through sunrise, and when you feel like coming down again, your questions will have answers and your worries will have gone.

As anything that cannot be touched with the hand or seen with the eye, your gift grows more powerful as you use it. At first you might use it only when you are outdoors watching the bird with whom you fly. But later on, if you use it well, it will work with birds that you cannot see, and last of all you will find that you will need neither ring nor bird to fly alone above the quiet of the clouds. And when that day comes to you, you must give your gift to someone who you know will use it well and who can learn, that the only thing that matters are those made of truth and joy, not of tin and glass.

Rae, this is the last day-a-year, special-time celebration that I shall be with you, learning what I have learned from our friends the birds.

I cannot go to be with you, because I am already here.

You are not little, because you are already grown, playing among your lifetimes as do we all, for the fun of living.

You have no birthday, because you have always lived. You were never born, and never will you die.

You are not the child of the people you call mother and father, but their fellow- adventurer on a bright journey to understand the things that are.

Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness, and so it is with this ring.

Fly free and happy beyond birthdays and across forever, and we will meet now and then when we wish, in the midst of the one celebration that can never end.”

In a time when our physical movements have been limited, I have experienced being even closer to my loved ones, wherever they are in the world. We are near and ‘the distance’ has dissolved. That is truly empowering. Increasing awareness of the stories we impose on ourselves has also set my energy free and increased my attentiveness. However, I am very much looking forward to seeing my loved ones in real life again soon.

I hope you enjoyed flying high with the birds and got inspired to embark on even more wonderful adventures in life with fellow-adventurers.

PS. Richard Bach’s most famous book is about Jonathan Livingston Seagull, who loves to fly. He is determined to be more than ordinary, deviating and even banished from his flock, where life is about eating and surviving.

Flying is a great metaphor and the fable about Jonathan is about seeking a higher purpose in life, even if our flock, tribe or neighbourhood finds our ambition threatening. By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan learns the meaning of love and kindness and gets the ultimate payoff – transcendence – freedom.

PS. Richard Bach’s most famous book is about Jonathan Livingston Seagull, who loves to fly. He is determined to be more than ordinary, deviating and even banished from his flock, where life is about eating and surviving.

Flying is a great metaphor and the fable about Jonathan is about seeking a higher purpose in life, even if our flock, tribe or neighbourhood finds our ambition threatening. By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan learns the meaning of love and kindness and gets the ultimate payoff – transcendence – freedom.