Richard Bach, a true adventurist at heart with a deep passion for flying, and a much deeper passion for freedom, comes up again with a question: “Why?” and “What were the chances of this happening…?” in his book “Nothing by Chance.”
Bach says about their barnstorming:
“I knew now, without question, that the land of yesterday does exist, that there is a place of escape, that a man can survive alone with his airplane, if only he had a wish to do so. Milan had been good to me, and I was happy. But tomorrow it would be time to move on.”
“…No freedom tasted, none of these strange affairs I called guidance to whisper that man is not a creature of chance, pointed into oblivion.”
“Which would I rather have - the wreck in the hangar or a polished piece of a biplane that flew only on calm Sunday afternoons?”
*********************
The story raises fundamental and core questions that are thought provoking - about life with its choices, and freedom of choices ever present before us. Bach uses the backdrop of slow paced country life (which is in total contrast to modern city life), to bring forth these questions and we can relate to the theme and the quest easily and instantly.
The simplicity or the freedom to stop and smell flowers is represented by the life that is gentle, calm and peaceful where they land their aircraft. The sky is beautiful, spacious, all encompassing and there is a sense of luxury - luxury of time, luxury of choice, luxury of space, of looking at the bright sun, vast blue sky, hues of twilight and the constellations in the clear nights, along with vast fields, water spots, hills and valleys and the green belts of land. He talks about good friends and the space they give each other. Life is simple, and there is a sense of freedom and joy that is uplifting and very gentle. Set in a simple narrative and a rather poetic style, Bach comes up with the most poignant questions of life. "Why?" and "What were the chances of this happening?"
These are the questions that plague every one of us, at one time or the other – specially, when things go wrong. We always stop to wonder why this has happened, or why we have to go through this. Richard Bach comes up with his answers in a very simple manner.
“At last, the answer why. The lesson that had been so hard to find, so difficult to learn, came quick and clear and simple. The reason for problems is to overcome them. Why, that’s the very nature of man, I thought, to press past limits, to prove his freedom. It isn’t the challenge that faces us, that determines who we are and what we are becoming, but the way we meet the challenge, whether we toss a match at the wreck or work our way through it, step by step, to freedom.” “And behind it, ….. lies not blind chance but a principle that works to help us understand, a thousand "coincidences" and friends come to show us the way when the problem seems too hard to solve alone”.
These are probably not revelations!!! Probably there is nothing new about these answers!! But this is his search for the meaning of life, and these are his answers. What is impressive is the way he puts forth his dreams and visions. What I like about the book is the freedom that is vibrant throughout the book. The freedom that always charms but eludes mankind, the freedom that everyone yearns for but which remains a distant dream. You can feel that freedom pulsating and inspiring throughout.
We choose to be what we are, by choosing to do whatever we do. Choices are made by us, nothing is thrust upon us, nothing ever happens by chance! To just live, or to be alive every moment, to be chained or to be free, to be what we want to be, or to be something we don’t want to be - everything is a matter of choice!!!
A perfect feel good and thought provoking book, and I enjoyed reading the same.
“Problems for overcoming. Freedom for proving. And, as long as we believe in our dream, nothing by chance.”
What an absolutely fantastic way, to end an absolutely fantastic book!!