Jonathan Livingston Seagull taught me to be a “bad blogger” and I’m loving it!

26 Aug 2009
blogging, KATJA'S DIARY, mama must know, Uncategorized 13 Comments
August 26, 2009 Katja Presnal

Jonathan Livingston Seagull taught me to be a “bad blogger” and I’m loving it!

I’ve been a bad blogger and I’m loving it. Have you ever read Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach? It was the first book I ever bought to my husband as a gift and it is a book I re-read every now often to remind me to have strength to do things in a way that I in my heart believe are the right thing to do, even if the “flock” might think otherwise. The book is about a seagull who learns to fly like no other seagull, and it is very metaphoric, but a book I recommend for anyone to read.
Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight–how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.

This past week I have seen so many friends, stopped what I’ve been doing, and just talked and talked about life, family, well, work too. I have to admit, I have been a bad friend for my friends this past year, I have been diving so deeply into the blogging, working, consulting… everything and not spending enough time with my friends. Even though, I have cut back on tweeting a lot – even when I go to places and meet twitter-friends, I rarely tweet anymore. I want to be in the moment, and not tweet the moment. The past week I have been blogging less and spending much more time with friends.
What he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone; he learned to fly, and was not sorry for the price that he had paid.
I feel like a slacker blogger, but at the same time I am proud of myself. I may not be a “perfect blogger” and get content up with a clock on my other hand, but I don’t care. I write this for you and me to connect and hopefully I can inspire you to live life to the fullest – even if it means that sometimes you can see that I walk the walk – and take a week off blogging (or say no to hosting giveaways, or say no to being a “spokesperson” or say no for a trip, or any other “blogging-thing”) to do other things… I suggest you try it too – be a “bad blogger” and take some time off if you feel like it.

The trick – – was for Jonathan to stop seeing himself as trapped inside a limited body that had a forty-two-inch wingspan and performance that could be plotted on a chat. The trick was to know that his true nature lived, as perfect as an unwritten number, everywhere at once across space and time.
Same goes with everything in your life – go ahead, be a bad cleaning lady, bad cook, bad taxi driver – and leave the house dirty once, get the take out or skip one softball game to do something else you enjoy. I know that while I am being a “bad blogger” I am being a better friend and a better mom. There are always these two sides of the coin, don’t focus on the thing you are lacking now, focus on things you are doing right right now, and give yourself a nice pat on the back “well done”. Katja, you’ve been a bad blogger past week, but damn you’ve been a nice friend and a good mama. See how easy it is?

And the thing is… sometimes when you go against the flock (whether the “flock” is people, things or general perceptions), you will see things more clearly. You will see your true passions, and sometimes also your true “flock”. Sometimes it makes you run back to your flock begging for forgiveness for going against the flock, sometimes it makes you feel empowered you didn’t let your flock to turn your passion for flying for passion food, like in the Bach’s book. My “true flock” – enjoying life and inspiring others to do it too. Jonathan inspires me, and while it may seem the weirdest thing, that a seagull story can inspire and teach me, think of it this way – if a seagull can inspire and teach me – anything can inspire you. Find what inspires you to find your passion, your flock and go ahead, spread your wings and fly.
Happy landings.
,

Katja Presnal

Katja Presnal shows how to live Nordic inspired life to the fullest and plan your dream life. Katja owns Presnal5 strategic marketing intelligence agency and wants to help marketing professionals to combine a dream career and dream life via freelance work. Katja is an award-winning marketing strategist, and a well-known speaker. Katja has lived in five different countries, and seven states in the USA. Her three children were all born in different countries within three years. When not working or jet-setting the world, Katja is at home cooking big family dinners. She has been featured in NY Times, Glamour, Redbook, Fodor's, Forbes and Woman's Day magazines among many other national and international publications and written for MTV3 and Lifetime TV networks.

Comments (13)

  3. Can Can (Mom Most Traveled)

    I have been feeling that lately too. I’m definitely not on my a-game on the blog right now, but I’ve been cooking a lot for my family and spending time with my husband after work. We even played a card game the other night. We are bonding! :)

    There has to be give and take to create balance with all of the things I value and strive to be!
    .-= Can Can (Mom Most Traveled)´s last blog ..Homemade Pizza =-.

  7. ExtraordinaryMommy

    I love this, Katja~ I’ve been more grounded lately too – some of it was forced on me by tech issues, but it still reminded me to be present. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was a favorite of mine in school – sounds like I need to re-read :)
    .-= ExtraordinaryMommy´s last blog ..Technology Fail, Family Triumph =-.

  9. Meryl

    I just read this book for the first time ever early this year when my mom told me it was a short and fast read (I had heard of it, but never knew it was a short one). It’s amazing how you can fly away with a different message in every read and I am sure each of us interprets it a little differently.

    Good for you, Katja. I love the analogy and you go! Be bad! :) I only blog about once a week now and it works for me. I’d rather listen to other bloggers than do all the talking anyway.
    .-= Meryl´s last blog ..Watch What You Blog, Post and Tweet Online =-.

  10. Stephanie Baffone

    Katja-
    I LOVED this post! I too have found that sometimes I just want to “be in the moment, not tweet in the moment.” The world of blogging is infinite but our time with loved ones is not. Personally, I am blogging when the spirit moves me and sometimes the spirit moves me.
    Thank you for sharing this with us!
    Stephanie

  11. Spookygirl

    I adore Richard Bach, and this post so describes what I have been doing lately. I am a tidal blogger, LOL! Sometimes the tide comes in rich with topics and interesting things to write about, and sometimes the tide is out, and you have to pick through the debris to find anything worth your time. Thanks for sharing :)
    .-= Spookygirl´s last blog ..My little 2×3.5 lifesavers… =-.

  12. Jenny Beth @ JenuineJen

    I have been a bad blogger for several months now and my life has taken a new direction. I have also been a bad friend because of the new direction as well and have been working to figure out how to improve in that. It is too easy to get involved in 1 thing and let other important things slide. Thanks for the support and encouragement.

  13. Ameeda @ snazL.com

    I love this post. Talk about being true to yourself above all else.

    “The trick was to know that his true nature lived, as perfect as an unwritten number, everywhere at once across space and time.”

    Reminds me of how I started snazL.com to everyone’s astonishment ;)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *