Jane Goodall

So, let us move forward with faith in ourselves, in our intelligence, in our indomitable spirit. Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion and love.

And sometimes it is possible to rouse them from a seemingly meaningless life with a really good story,' Jane said, 'one that will reach their hearts and wake them up.'
'Can you give me an example?'
'One of my very favorites is fictitious but seems so appropriate now. It is Lord of the Rings.'
'What makes it such an appropriate story for the hopeless?' I asked.
'Because the might the heroes were up against seemed utterly invincible-the might of Mordor, the orcs, and the Black Riders on horses and then on those huge flying beasts. And Samwise and Frodo, two little hobbits, traveling into the heart of danger on their own..... I think it provides us with a blueprint of how we survive and turn around climate change and loos of biodiversity, poverty, racism, discrimination, greed, and corruption. The Dark Lord of Mordor and the Black Riders symbolize all the wickedness we have to fight. The fellowship of the Ring includes all those who are fighting the good fight-we have to work so hard to grow the fellowship around the world.'
Jane pointed out that the land of Middle-earth was polluted by the destructive industry of that world in the same way that our environment is devastated today. And she reminded me that Lady Galadriel had given Sam a little box of earth from her orchard.
'Do you remember how he used that gift when he surveyed the devastated landscape after the Dark Lord was finally defeated? He started sprinkling little pinches of the earth all around the country-and everywhere nature sprang back to life. Well, that earth represents all the projects people are doing to restore habitats on planet Earth.

Here was a chimpanzee using a tool... That was object modification — the crude beginning of tool making.

Consider the farmer who sprays his fields with insecticide to kill the bugs that are damaging his crops. He kills thousands of harmless insects as well, including some that actually do good, such as bees that pollinate the flowers and give us honey. Creatures that feed on insects, especially birds, also get sick and die. In the end, because the poisonous chemicals get widely distributed, humans may become sick, too.

The least I can do is speak out for the hundreds of chimpanzees who, right now, sit hunched, miserable and without hope, staring out with dead eyes from their metal prisons. They cannot speak for themselves.

The Buddhists believe that we can be reincarnated as animals-it depends on where we are on the path toward enlightenment. And, of course, both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in karma-if you suffer misfortune, you are paying for sins you did in a previous life.

We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place — or not to bother

Every day we make some impact on the planet. And the cumulative effect of millions of small ethical actions will truly make a difference.

"The first time I saw adult chimpanzees in these five-by-five foot cages... tears began to trickle down under my mask, and [JoJo, a chimp,] just reached out this gentle finger and wiped them away... And then the veterinarian came. He knelt down beside me and put his arm around me. He said, "I have to face this every day.

As your days, so shall your strength be.’ When I’m lying awake the night before having to make one of those speeches, I say that to myself. It reassures me.” “What does that mean to you, that text?” “That when the trials of life come, you’ll be given the strength to cope with them, day by day. So often I’ve thought at the start of a dreaded day — having to defend my Ph.D. thesis, giving a talk to an intimidating audience, or even just going to the dentist! — ‘Well, of course, I shall get through this because I have to. I will find the strength. And, anyway, by this time tomorrow it will be over.

That is our hope. Because if we all start listening and helping, then surely, together, we can make the world a better place for all living things. Can’t we?

Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it we can destroy the only planet we have?

Without patience I could never have succeeded.

Let us learn to live in harmony with each other — between the people of different nations, cultures, and religions, and between us and Mother Earth. We're trying to grow a family of young people who move out into the world with shared values, who understand that although we may look different, although we may have different-colored skin, have different cultures, or wear different clothes — if we're sad, we cry, and the tears are the same. If we're happy, we laugh, and the laughter is the same. And within each of us, wherever we are, beats the same human heart.

I Starve my Belly for a Sublime Purpose

Three days
I starve my belly
so that it learns
to eat the sun.

I say to it: Belly,
I am ashamed of you. You must
spiritualize yourself. You must
eat the sun.

The belly keeps silent
for three days. It’s not easy
to waken in it higher aspirations.

Yet I hope for the best.
This morning, tanning myself on the beach,
I noticed that, little by little,
it begins to shine.