In honor of Mother’s Day, this post is dedicated to the humble researcher, advocate, and hero for Mother Earth, Dr. Jane Goodall. Her work has inspired many people all over the world to be better caretakers of our planet, animals, and each other. If you need some of her magical inspiration today, too, then read on, my friend.
It is these undeniable qualities
Dr. Jane goodall
of human love and compassion and self-sacrifice
that give me hope for the future.
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The first thing that usually comes to mind about Dr. Jane Goodall is her groundbreaking work in Africa with chimpanzees. Over many years, she lived amongst chimps in their natural habitat, observing and befriending these fascinating creatures and discovering insights that hadn’t been explored before.
And as she studied their behaviors and personalities, she also approached these great apes with curiosity, openness, and compassion…ideas we can all relate to beyond science.
Dr. Jane Goodall is a rare gem amongst researchers, environmentalists, and primatologists because her trailblazing discoveries are illuminated by the spiritual side of nature, an eager interest in the connection between animals and humans, and empathy for all living beings.
I recently read Dr. Goodall’s book, Reason For Hope, and wanted to share some of her quotes that stood out to me. I hope this inspires you to read her book, too! If you’d like to hear her narrate her own story in her gentle, English accent, I highly recommended reading through Audible. It was a charming, calming experience.
This post is all about Dr. Jane Goodall, a much respected and adored conservationist.
Dr. Jane Goodall: A Mother’s Love
There is no doubt
Dr. Jane goodall
that my observations of the chimpanzees
helped me to be a better mother.
Though I’m not sure how Dr. Goodall would characterize it, my impression is that someone who started out with a such a caring, empathetic heart was destined to care deeply and truly her whole life.
Among her many lifetime achievements, Jane Goodall is a mother, too. In Reason For Hope, she talks about how her work with chimps in the wild gave her inspiration and understanding on how to be a mom to her own child.
While I don’t have any biological children, I can relate to the instinctive love she has for animals, how she sees the interconnections of all sentient beings and even the plants and organisms that share this world with us. This kind of awareness, to me, is amazing.
A Dog Person is My Kind of Person
One of the first things that drew me to Jane Goodall was her love for our fur friends from an early age. A lifelong dog person, her first pup was a big influence on how she understood and related to other perceptive beings. Dogs are still her favorite animals!
Being a lifelong dog person, too, I’m still soulfully connected to all of the dogs I’ve loved. And I can see that in Dr. Goodall as well.
A Voice for Mother Earth
Dr. Jane Goodall’s authentic, soft, but powerful voice for our earth is a huge reminder that everyone can make a difference. She’s passionate about that, inspiring people of all ages that their actions matter.
I try to reach gently into their hearts.
Dr. Jane Goodall
Sometimes, I get discouraged about our world, feeling that I’m making such a tiny dent in healing the climate and helping to restore natural spaces. Then I remember by adding a birdbath to my yard, planting pollinator flowers, or leaving the dandelions (and saying no to toxic chemicals), it just might influence one person. And that person may go and do good earthy things and influence someone else. It’s like doing the wave at sporting events (not that I go to sporting events, but you get it!).
My own spirit had been nourished and strengthened by nature
Dr. Jane Goodall
and I had developed a very real understanding of and respect for
the fascinating diversity of lifeforms on Earth
and their interdependence.
To sometimes keep me going, I have to listen to wise voices that have the life experience, the years of knowledge, and that undeniable hope that’s stronger than any despondency I may feel. And my wish is that you have those positive voices in your life, too.
This is a long quote, but SO good:
I thought about the power for good,
Dr. Jane Goodall
the power for evil that exists in each one of us.
What a difference a single individual could make
in our gradual progress towards a moral world.
Indeed, I mused, every one of us had a role to play.
Our contributions were different.
Some made a great splashing as they moved through the waters of life
and the ripples spread far and wide.
Others seemed to sink without a stir,
but surely it was not so, just that the movement of their passage
was deep-down, creating change that was out of sight.
And some, buried silently in contemporary mud,
had been dug up afterwards with a great swirling of the waters.
At all different levels, the ripples and currents passed
or mingled and some merged inextricably.
With each merging, a new force was created,
itself as unique as the two beings who forged it.
What joys the world would have lost if some of those forces
had never been created.
And what pain, in other instances,
would it have been spared.
A Love for Animals That Was Always There
One of my ALL-TIME treasured kids’ books is Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell. This is a delightful story that stirred so much emotion in me at the very end. Because it starts during the time she was a little girl, it’s beautiful to see how young Jane’s imagination, curiosity, and determination turned into a legacy of speaking up for the voiceless.
And it’s a true testament to listening to our hearts and not abandoning those childhood dreams and intuitions.
A kindred spirit to the innocent and courageous, Dr. Jane Goodall somehow knew all along she’d be a voice for animals, a steward of the earth, and an ambassador for humankind.
Fondness and Sensitivity for the Beauty of Nature
I lay flat on my back and looked up into the darkening sky.
Dr. Jane Goodall
How sad it would be, I thought, if we humans
ultimately were to lose all sense of mystery, all sense of awe,
if our left brains were utterly to dominate the right,
so that logic and reason triumphed over intuition,
and alienated us from our inmost being,
from our hearts, our souls.
Growing up in the country, I was surrounded by mysterious wooded trails, hay fields lit up with lightning bugs, and the sounds of soothing creek beds that you could skip rocks across. I thought this was how most people grew up, except for the kids on Sesame Street, in which I was equally fascinated with their world in the city.
I’m not sure I really knew how important this landscape was for my mental health and imagination until later on. My older brother had understood it early, though. He had a true appreciation for nature, always wanting to be outdoors, always lighting up around animals.
He passed away in the wilderness, going back to the trees and rocks and water, doing what he loved. I always thought he was our family’s nature person. Then, I realized, I was, too. Maybe I was supposed to carry on that legacy for him.
The forest and the spiritual power I felt so strongly there
Dr. Jane Goodall
had given me the peace that passeth understanding.
Not too long ago, a respected colleague (I feel all professor-y saying this, which is the only professor thing I’ve ever done in my life, i.e., I’m not a professor!) in my studio did a study on some of my pieces and noted how I used multiple nature metaphors in my writing. It kind of gave me an epiphany…I did use a lot of nature metaphors in my writing!
I wondered how that even happened when I had a framed print in my house that said, “I love not camping.” Then, I realized all of the things that bring me peace: sunsets, ocean waves, fireflies, trees, soft rainfall, flowers, spotting a deer at the edge of the woods, a snowy evening, the stars.
Well, by golly, I AM into nature! (Just not camping!)
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Spiritual Journey…Grateful Heart
Dr. Goodall has been told she’s an old soul, and that seems so true in the way she embraces spirituality in life and nature. In Reason For Hope, she talks about her spiritual beliefs and the peace it’s brought her, while simultaneously guiding her.
Part of her story finds her at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, where she talks about the transcendent beauty of the music and how that experience has stayed with her.
This specifically piqued my interest because, many, many years ago, I had the good fortune of traveling with my college choir to Notre Dame and singing in their mass. And I can say that was also an ethereal, life-changing experience for me.
It also feels like a blessing to have walked in the same place as Dr. Goodall and felt similar emotions as she did in such a sacred place.
Her gratitude and grace inspire me and remind me of all the good things I’ve had in my life.
That which is loved, I realized, can grow.
Dr. Jane Goodall
We had to learn to understand and love the spirit within us
in order to find peace within.
And only then could we reach out beyond
the narrow prison of our own lives,
seeking reunion with the spiritual power
that we call God or Allah, the Tao, Brahma, the Creator,
or whatever our personal belief prescribes.
Once we had attained that goal,
our power to connect with others
so that together we could create a better world,
would be immeasurably greater.
The blending and mixing of billions of life strands
Dr. Jane Goodall
can lead to one person so strong for good or evil
that he or she can influence the lives of billions of others
and change the course of history.
It was obvious that every human, every unique being
played some role in the shaping of progress,
though only some got into the history books.
We Can All Contribute
Dr. Jane Goodall started out with a desire to learn, to understand, to believe. Did she know she’d influence millions of people? Probably not at first. But, with passion and hard work, her insights gave the world so many new things to consider: things like, animals have feelings and personalities…and the earth’s resources are precious gifts we must protect.
And this is her message of one. What if we all shared a similar message? How many more people would that reach?
The trouble is that we suffer, all of us, from just-me-ism.
Dr. Jane Goodall
‘I am just one person. What I do or don’t do can’t possibly make any difference, so why should I bother?’
Imagine, as more and more people around the world become aware
of what is good and what is bad for the environment and for society,
this means that there are thousands and millions and billions
all thinking the same.
‘It can’t make any difference what I do. It’s just me.’
Think how it would be if we could turn that around,
thousands and millions and billions of people all knowing
that what they do does make a difference.
Our town has a local compost service that I found out about by accident…so whadya know, I signed up! There’s one other house on my street that composts through this company, too. Sometimes, it feels impossible to keep on when so many others aren’t getting more involved. But what if they did? What if it weren’t just pitiful little me and the one other house hustling to save the planet? What if it were the whole street that composted? The whole neighborhood?
None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something. I really believe that makes change.
Thank You, Dr. Jane Goodall
If we put our problem-solving abilities in high-gear
Dr. Jane Goodall
and join hands and brains and hearts around the world,
surely we can find ways to live that are more in harmony with nature
and start to heal some of the wounds we have inflicted.
Caring for others, speaking up for those who can’t, using creative ways to solve problems, listening to new perspectives, and protecting what we love are all examples of motherly love for one another AND Mother Earth. And I think Jane Goodall is a perfect example of motherly love for humans, animals, and all the little wild things that grow.
Thank you, Dr. Goodall, for leading with your example. May we not let you down. May we continue on with your message of hope.
A life lived in the service of humanity,
Dr. Jane Goodall
a love of and respect for all living things,
those attributes are the essence of saint-like behavior.
If only we can overcome cruelty
Dr. Jane Goodall
to human and animal with love and compassion
we shall stand at the threshold of a new era
in human and spiritual evolution and realize, at last,
our most unique quality: humanity.
Easy Earth Things We Can All Do
Maybe just pick one or two new ideas and add them into your routine. Remember, it’s baby steps!
- Run less water when you’re washing dishes or brushing your teeth.
- Turn off lights when you’re leaving a room.
- Buy cruelty-free and vegan makeup, toiletries, and household items like cleaners.
- Dedicate at least one day a week that you skip eating meat.
- Buy less plastic by choosing alternatives in glass or other reusable and/or recyclable materials.
- Use laundry soap sheets and swear off those big plastic bottles.
- Purchase less and only what you need.
- Repurpose stuff you already own,
- Use Grandma’s china instead of getting new plates.
- Choose antiques before buying new.
- Drive less.
- Plant native pollinator flowers.
- Don’t spray lawn chemicals (this is rapidly killing pollinators). Rebel against the perfect suburban yard!
- Let part of your yard go natural, for example, letting the clover and dandelions pop up to support bees and butterflies.
- Make birdbaths for your feathery friends.
- Add a hummingbird feeder. My cousin blogs about gardening and she shows you how to make a hummingbird feeder out of a Coke bottle here.
- Try growing a vegetable. I’m starting this year with tomatoes because they’re supposedly easy (we’ll see!).
- Skip the plastic straw next time you’re at a restaurant. The trick is to ask the server right away because they’re fast as lightning with those straws!
- Show children how to be kind and gentle to animals.
- Contact your representatives to vote for laws that end animal experiments, cruel farming practices, trophy hunting, euthanasia for healthy shelter dogs, and animal abuse by individuals.
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An enjoyable read. I appreciate you sharing about Jane Goodall. I’m in support of people who advocate for nice things.
Thank you so much, Jojo! I really enjoyed your note and am glad you enjoyed this piece!
Jane Goodall really is the blueprint for showing up with care—whether it’s for people, animals, or the planet. Love how this ties everyday kindness to something much bigger.
Love this, Domii! “Blueprint for showing up with care” is so very true. Thank you for reading!