1984 - Illusions of Connection - Jonathan Livingston Ferreira

 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull 

(Fifty Nifty Years in United States Series)

Richard Bach – yeah, him. The guy who wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions and The Bridge Across Forever as well as a few other great books.

This was the year his book, “One” came out and he was signing books at Vroman’s in Pasadena, California. Of course I went and I have at least two or three of his books signed that evening.

That's when the most fascinating thing happened. I walked out of Vromans (back door going up to the parking lot) and there he was standing.

So I stood as well. It seemed like five minutes went by with not a word. Then he offered up that it was a beautiful site to see as the sun went down. If you have stood at the back entrance of Vromans, it faces the parking lot and at that time faced the back of some homes and other buildings. But the sun had just gone down and perhaps what I heard was “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.”

And a conversation began. We talked for quite some time about so many things including writing and relationships.

At the end we even exchanged contact information and for a while we corresponded a bit infrequently and always me giving updates on what I was writing.

He was very generous with his time. It all led to eventual email exchange and then like any brief relationships, it just stopped. I reached out one other time recently and got a brief note back again encouraging me to keep to my lane.

Richard Bach (circa 1980s)

I am so grateful for those few moments and the lesson that I still “enjoy” to this day. Sometimes it feels like an illusion that it even happened. I think back on so many summers, late nights, winter weekends in the work I have been blessed to do. All the souls that have touched my life and in turn may have received something as well.

That's my lesson, that two souls can share a few moments and have such a tremendous, affirming, and transformational impact on each of us. It is in John Maxwell's Law of Connection, "the heart comes first. You must connect on an emotional level." 

That's how Richard made me feel that day. I am ever so grateful for his part and influence on my journey.