Writer Richard Bach (1936–) was born on this day in Oak Park, Illinois. His inspirational novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull enchantingly explored flight, freedom, joy, and—most deeply—what it means to live with kindness and love.

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you,” Bach explained. “All they show is limitation. Believe with your understanding. Find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.”

A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Bach struggled to sell his tale of a bird who flew not for survival, but “for the joy of flying.” Rejected repeatedly, the manuscript was finally accepted by Macmillan and printed in a small first run in 1970. The book became a publishing phenomenon—#1 for 38 weeks on the New York Times list—and has since sold over 44 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.

“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way,” believed Jonathan Seagull. A film adaptation with beautiful photography and a score by Neil Diamond was released in 1973.

“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true,” Bach wrote in his 1984 work Illusions. “You may have to work for it, however.”

The miracle is this: when your soul calls, someone appears. Cherish their love.