The book reaffirms my feeling that Jane Goodall is a modern saint. Surely Saint Francis of Assisi would be proud of her, and indeed she chronicles an episode where she spoke on his Saint's Day at the annual Blessing of the Animals. What an experience that must have been for the people who brought their pets to be blessed that day!
Her core message is:
Every individual matters
Every individual has a role to play
Every individual makes a difference.
Every individual has a role to play
Every individual makes a difference.
She told many stories in her book, of personal experiences both joyful and painful, that have formed her spiritual core and her relationship to God. But in addition there is something difficult to explain: a compassion that God planted in her heart, that was there long, long before she went to the Gombe to study the chimpanzees.
At the very end of the book she recounts an experience that happened when she was only a year old, yet she can remember it. This in itself is pretty amazing considering that many people cannot remember much of their early lives even up until pre-adolescence. Jane recounted an episode where she was told that a dragonfly could sting and that it had a stinger as big as its tail. This of course terrified the baby girl. So when she was out in her pram and a dragonfly began hovering around her she was frightened and screamed. Someone, thinking to protect her, killed that dragonfly.
Instead of being relieved, Jane Goodall screamed all the way home. She screamed out of horror that this living being was killed, killed on her behalf, which even in her baby mind seemed to make her share in the guilt. She feared that it had died in terrible pain.
This experience seems to have set the course for her whole life. But in fact the sensitivity and the ability to feel compassion even for a frightening insect, was something God put into her heart and it did not grow out of her experience. Rather, her experience was defined by it, where most children would have been relieved that the dragonfly was no longer a threat, and would have completely forgotten what to most would be a trivial experience.
Under that same belief, that dragonflies have a stinger as long as their tails, I once killed a dragonfly. I never felt guilty about it; instead I felt proud of myself. Does that make me lacking in compassion? Should I now stop killing the cockroaches that have invaded my apartment and seem to stick their antennae up and taunt me everywhere?
Well, I am not going to stop stomping the cockroaches, because I do not believe humans can peacefully coexist with them in our houses. They spread disease and contribute to asthma attacks with their droppings. So I am not going to expand my compassion to include the suffering of cockroaches, even though they happen to be fascinating beings that will inhabit the earth long after humans are gone.
However Jane Goodall has inspired me and I want to do something positive in the world with whatever time I have left. I have squandered too much time and energy in a battle that is not improving anyone's lot, not even my own or my family's. I'm going to take down my "Brooklyn Ethics" blog and turn my energies to this one. I'm going to be that one person who makes a difference. Jane Goodall's shadow is a huge one, and she has made a difference that a very few people make in their lifetimes. But as she mentions in her book, it is the unsung heroes who make a great deal of difference as well, just by being who they are and working for good.
So that's my decision for today. Maybe some friends who have enjoyed my blog will be sorry to see it go, but it is not serving my life purpose. It is a distraction and a trip into negativity that hasn't done any good. It's time for it to go. Jane Goodall has reason for hope, and so even in that very disturbing situation at BSEC, I will find a reason for hope. But I will turn my attention elsewhere and I will find a better outlet for my own particular talents.
At the very end of the book she recounts an experience that happened when she was only a year old, yet she can remember it. This in itself is pretty amazing considering that many people cannot remember much of their early lives even up until pre-adolescence. Jane recounted an episode where she was told that a dragonfly could sting and that it had a stinger as big as its tail. This of course terrified the baby girl. So when she was out in her pram and a dragonfly began hovering around her she was frightened and screamed. Someone, thinking to protect her, killed that dragonfly.
Instead of being relieved, Jane Goodall screamed all the way home. She screamed out of horror that this living being was killed, killed on her behalf, which even in her baby mind seemed to make her share in the guilt. She feared that it had died in terrible pain.
This experience seems to have set the course for her whole life. But in fact the sensitivity and the ability to feel compassion even for a frightening insect, was something God put into her heart and it did not grow out of her experience. Rather, her experience was defined by it, where most children would have been relieved that the dragonfly was no longer a threat, and would have completely forgotten what to most would be a trivial experience.
Under that same belief, that dragonflies have a stinger as long as their tails, I once killed a dragonfly. I never felt guilty about it; instead I felt proud of myself. Does that make me lacking in compassion? Should I now stop killing the cockroaches that have invaded my apartment and seem to stick their antennae up and taunt me everywhere?
Well, I am not going to stop stomping the cockroaches, because I do not believe humans can peacefully coexist with them in our houses. They spread disease and contribute to asthma attacks with their droppings. So I am not going to expand my compassion to include the suffering of cockroaches, even though they happen to be fascinating beings that will inhabit the earth long after humans are gone.
However Jane Goodall has inspired me and I want to do something positive in the world with whatever time I have left. I have squandered too much time and energy in a battle that is not improving anyone's lot, not even my own or my family's. I'm going to take down my "Brooklyn Ethics" blog and turn my energies to this one. I'm going to be that one person who makes a difference. Jane Goodall's shadow is a huge one, and she has made a difference that a very few people make in their lifetimes. But as she mentions in her book, it is the unsung heroes who make a great deal of difference as well, just by being who they are and working for good.
So that's my decision for today. Maybe some friends who have enjoyed my blog will be sorry to see it go, but it is not serving my life purpose. It is a distraction and a trip into negativity that hasn't done any good. It's time for it to go. Jane Goodall has reason for hope, and so even in that very disturbing situation at BSEC, I will find a reason for hope. But I will turn my attention elsewhere and I will find a better outlet for my own particular talents.
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