Five Seagulls by Hans Brockhuis

Provokingly slowly the tide goes out. I am watching the slow passage of the large cargo vessels, and the diligent sailing to and fro of the pilot boats. It’s fascinating, and more than that. I’m really having a great time.

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Seated on a bench on the promenade, I look out over the wide funnel-shaped estuary and for a long time I enjoy at ease the light, the air, and the water. It’s really a fantastic spectacle. The changing of many colors: green and blue, gray and white. And all variations in between.

Before me on the railing, at a distance of about two feet, lands a huge gull. After some time, it becomes apparent that the bird is waiting for something edible. Slightly nervous, she patters back and forth, every now and then directing her beady eyes to me to see if there is anything that comes of it. I get up, make a few steps forward, and put my hand gently towards her. When the gull sees my empty hand, she lets out a screech and, slightly agitated, she moves back a yard, just out of my reach,

The seagull makes it clear she does not appreciate jokes and looks somewhat angrily in my direction. I shrug, sit back, and continue what I am doing: peering into the faraway distance and considering things I’m thinking. It is enjoyable, because the weather is pleasant, and gradually I lose myself in time and I get more and more into a state of inner reflection, gradually extending the energy bubble in which I find myself. Finally, while expanding, the seagull becomes, so to speak, part of this all-embracing bubble of energy.

“And good morning,” says the gull, still a little pissed. I startle. It is something I had not really expected.

“Good morning gull,” I reply. “It was not my intention to hurt you. I just wanted to make contact, but now it’s clear to me that I did not do it the right way.”

“I guess you could say that, my friend. Rather ill-judged. You people have a lot to learn. That strikes me once and again.”

“That is of course true,” I reply, “but give us some time and we will learn.”

In the meantime the bird came somewhat closer to me.

“Hmmm, that remains to be seen,” the seagull grumbles and switches to another topic.

“Nice view from here, isn’t it? If you look from here over the estuary, it gives a bit of the illusion of the view that we birds can see as we watch the world from above. This additional perspective that you see here is quite unusual for you landlubbers, I dare say.”

It is obvious that the mood of the animal is improving, and hopefully I say, “Well, that’s interesting. We can view it from above only by using huge machines while you can do it on your own.” I try to placate her a bit. “So you see again that your type is superior to ours in many ways.”

“Hmmm,” grumbles the gull, which is still trotting back and forth, evidently somewhat pleased. “That is not quite how it is. Nothing and no one is superior to anything or anyone else. We all do it our own way. We all have our peculiarities, and we all have our good sides. You humans can walk better than we do and so is every creature in his own way trying to create paradise on Earth.”

“Paradise uh?” I fall silent, because I do not know anymore what to say.

But the gull continues.

“By the way, you know me; my name is Nada and I invite you to go with me on a journey. There is something I really want to show you.”

Suddenly I’m fully alert.

Nada, of course! A journey, where, how, what, when. My brain is an instant chaos and again I am lost for words.

“There is no need to panic. It’s all rather simple. You just fly along with me, and I’ll show you something. We Aare leaving right now. And you’re back in time for dinner, I promise you. You didn’t bring me anything, but rest assured I do have something in store for you.”

The next moment, I find out that I am also on the railing, face to face with Nada, who gives me friendly and encouraging nods. To my surprise, I notice that I have adopted the shape of a gull now. I’m almost as big as she is and excitedly my heart beats. What will I get to see?

“Now do not dally, my friend. Spread your wings and then we are on our way.”

And so a wonderful journey begins that will teach me many things and I will always remember.

First we cross the estuary to the other side and fly over fields and meadows and villages and towns. We see rivers and canals, roads and paths and gradually it becomes more and more clear that I can at last see literally from a bird’s eye view. Increasingly I get to be more aware of what is happening below. I see people working the land. I look at others who get on their way to earn their daily bread, and I understand that some people are trying to impress others. It is all rather confusing.

“Well then,” Nada says to me. “At first glance, it seems that all those people are preoccupied only with their own very earthly things. Yet beneath the surface, in many of them prevails the step toward harmony. It is a great gift when a creature is enabled, by his own inner powers, to believe in and experiencing the oneness of all who has a soul. It is the greatest gift of all, when we all remember that it will be possible for everyone to experience this oneness and thus create and be Love.”

I nod. I had not thought about it. But Nada has even more to say.

“Love is a word that keeps coming back, but that is often so difficult to achieve; also and especially to humans and other souls on the planet Earth. You live — and for that you have chosen, for which we are eternally grateful — in a veiled state, and that capacity again makes it possible for the choices you make to indicate that you are here to learn with such quality. There is no good or evil. Only the good or evil that you experience as such has inherited that value. And that leads again to those people turning against each other, while it would be far better for each individual to reconcile with one another. Then you will be able to experience what we have just experienced, the oneness of our seagull image. Because that image is really no different than that of God/Goddess/Source, because each Be-ing forms a part of God/Goddess/Source and therefore it is possible to experience the Love and Oneness of things.”

“Yes, I muse, of course, that is true.”

As a temporary gull being, I look deep into Nada's eyes and what I see there is what she just explained to me. I get more and more impressed. But we are going further and further and finally there is no more land to be seen and we fly above an almost endless ocean. Every now and then, we pass by a ship, but that happens less and less and we finally fly -- it seems like hours -- just over softly rippling water that is not interrupted by anything whatsoever.

But suddenly there is a black dot on the horizon that, while we are flying towards it, becomes bigger. As we get closer we see that it is a small island rising like a cone above the tender waves. At the top of it is a white temple-like building in a walled garden. To my horror, I see that the whole building is on fire. The wall, the garden, the main part of the house, everything is in flames. Only the doorway and a semicircle before it are free from the scorching heat. In the doorway, a man and his son are standing before their blazing home.

They beckon to us. “We have to save them,” I yell at Nada, who nods. Meanwhile, there are two or three other gulls appearing out of nowhere, who join us. Together we gently descend to the seemingly apprehensive pair in the doorway. We continue to hover close to the duo and offer our help. However, they refuse calmly and dignified, and so we go up again a bit to get away from the heat. But we keep on standby, so we will be ready as soon as help will be required.

We ascend a little further so that the area around the house and garden are becoming more visible. It now appears that the house is built on top of a large terraced city. Everything is under water in this huge but otherwise very calm ocean of clear translucent azure waters. Only the outlines of the city, the ocean, and the burning house are therefore visible. We see that, little by little, the water level rises and in a last “effort” gushes over the burning walls. Instantly the flames are extinguished.

We descend again. The waters are retreating even further and it is finally obvious that the house and the city are unaffected. Neither by the tall flames, nor by the waters of the sea. The father and son are waving at us. They are saved. They apparently understood, were confident and wanted it to happen — that it wouldn’t be necessary to yield to the cleansing fire — even in times of agony. Furthermore they trusted and believed in the all-embracing love of the water of the sapphire blue ocean.

Exuberantly we congratulate the father and his son with their rescue. They were all the time showing us their calm and peaceful attitude, as well as, apparently, their boundless confidence. Then the father blesses us. We are thrilled, thank them for their valuable lesson, and go on.

The three gulls that came just before we arrived, stay with us. They turn out to be the three “M”s — Magdalena, Moira, and Myriah. They are old acquaintances of mine. I welcome these three beautiful souls affectionately, and as we continue our flight, we evaluate what happened on the burning island.

Nada speaks first: “As you have seen, nothing is what it seems at first sight when we look at it from an indistinct view. Everything becomes clear when you get your distance and are able to observe the scene from the right perspective. This applies to everything that happens in life.”

“That’s right,” Magdalena replies, “but I also want to emphasize that I think it is wonderful that the father and son had such unlimited confidence in the purification of the fire and their love and trust in what the ubiquitous water from the blue ocean could mean for them, healing in all its aspects.”

I also put in a word: “And then the presence of all elements is also significant: water, the ocean; fire, the burning temple; earth, the semicircle of untouched land in front of the house; air, from where it all could be fully overseen; and ether, through which we as a potential rescue team could sense what was going on in the minds of the father and the son.”

“Yes, of course,” adds Moira, “I have an easy one; when the need is greatest, salvation is near.”

“And yet,” Myriah brings forward, “it should be possible to view the whole thing from an even loftier position. Undoubtedly new perspectives will then be unfolded. The views from the higher realms are unlimited. Moreover, I wish to point out that our Mother Earth is involved in all this too. After all, the island and the sea are part of Her Gentle Presence.”

“What shows again,” I say, “is that it fully confirms that the number of conclusions which can be drawn from this episode is as good as infinite.”

Slowly it becomes clear that this is the last word, because for the time being no one says anything more. All has been said. Sunset looms and gradually it becomes dark and we can see that the sun is losing itself in beautiful colors behind the distant horizon.

Now we see the lights of the people and large pieces of dark land moving beneath us. Once again I appreciate the privilege I have to live on this beautiful planet. From the heights, I am able to understand the dreams of humanity and more and more I am filled with awe, reverence, and respect for this magnificent creation, which indeed requires purification from time to time, but while be-ing it, is so very clean and pure.

Every now and then, we must look at the balance and we all have to try to find each other back and join forces — sometimes with a little boost from up high. Today I have confidence that we will, one day, work it all out. That thought makes me blissfully happy.

One by one, our companions say goodbye and bow off to their respective destinations, and gradually I come back to this Earth and I find myself again in the here and now on my bench at the river mouth. Nada is once again close to me on the railing.

This time I have a crust of bread in my hand that I place on the edge next to her. This is the meal which she was waiting for. She picks it up, nods and with a grand swerve she spreads her wings. After circling once above my head, she flies off into the vermilion sunset.

I am ever so grateful.

Copyright © 2015 by Hans Brockhuis

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This beautiful video, with music by Neil Diamond, is based on Richard Bach’s novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

 

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Please share your thoughts and comments with us below.

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About Hans Brockhuis

Hans Brockhuis is a Dutch lightworker, writer and translator. His bilingual website, Running Fox Pages, features spiritual work of himself and others. Working as a translator and editor, he has been and is active in processing various publications, either in English, Dutch or German. See his portfolio here. If you are interested to follow what Running Fox is offering, you may subscribe to his newsflashes. Simply send an email to this address mentioning “subscribe Running Fox” in the subject line.

19 Responses

  1. Pat

    Thank you Hans and John. This was such a beautifully reverent story. I could feel myself on the journey with you.

    Wouldn’t it be wonderful, like you said: “Today I have confidence that we will, one day, work it all out. That thought makes me blissfully happy.” I can picture that, too.

    • John Cali

      You’re most welcome, Pat.

      I agree with you — Hans’ words carried us right along on the journey.

      That is a beautiful thought. I have a little sign posted above my computer desk. It says “Everything always works out for me” — I’d just substitute “us” for “me.”

      • Pat

        Yes, John, they carried us right along on the journey. It was nice and I like the quote you look at and use everyday. It really happens that way that things all work out when we look at it like that. Have a great weekend. 🙂

        • John Cali

          I agree, Pat – things always work, no matter how we see them from our human perspective.

          You have a great weekend too!

    • Hans

      Thank you very much, Pat, for your kind words. What you said is true. We are virtually all underway to the same goal: to be able to say that we have it worked out. Indeed, that will be a glorious day.

      Espavo, Pat!

      • Pat

        You’re welcome, Hans, and thank you for inviting us on this inspiring journey with you. It was lovely.

        • Hans

          To be true, for me the journey has been very inspiring too. While reading it back, it all comes together once more.

          • Pat

            I can see how that would take you back, Hans, in the re-reading of this story. No doubt you can relive this experience over and over again. That’s wonderful.

  2. Carin

    Jonathan Livingston Seagull was my mother’s favourite book, and she also loved the soundtrack of the movie. Many years ago she told me that she wanted us to play Skybird at her funeral, and so we did. When she passed away last October, all music during the funeral came from the soundtrack, and the ceremony ended with Skybird. We also read a few paragraphs from the book; the part where Jonathan is greeted by two other gulls, and they all move to a higher level. It was very moving and very uplifting at the same time.

    Love
    Carin

    • John Cali

      Thanks very much, Carin, for sharing your story. It must have been a beautiful ceremony, and celebration of your mother’s life.

      Love, John

      • Carin

        Indeed it was. One of the participants even said it was the most beautiful funeral she had ever attended. I’m glad we could give my mother what she wanted, and every time I see her now (in my mind) she has a big smile in her face and she looks very happy.

        • John Cali

          I’m sure she is very happy, Carin. And I’m sure she’s proud to have a loving daughter like you.

  3. Jan

    I loved the story! My father was a Hollander so it’s always nice to read the words that Hans writes as it takes me home. Thanks for the story of clarity and hope for us all. Beautiful! And All Is Well! Of course Johnathan Livington Seagull lets my heart soar! Thanks for all that you do to help us see!

    • Hans

      Thank you, Jan, for your kind words. Good to hear that you are in some way still connected with your Dutch roots. Wish you well!

  4. Margaret

    Thank you Hans for this inspirational story.
    How wonderful to fly with the gulls and to converse with them.

    Like the birds we can use turbulent currents in our lives to take us higher.

    Much love to you and to you too John, been loving latest offerings. The awakening video in particular 🙂

    What extraordinary times we are experiencing.

    So glad we connected.

    Margaret x

    • Hans

      Love your nice words, Margaret. Part of the story came to me in a dream I still treasure. And I indeed met this gull on the promenade at the estuary of the river Meuse. Both meetings were awesome and I just had to share it by means of this story.
      Love and Light and Peace to you and all other readers.

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