Jane Goodall > Quotes

“....I understood why those who had lived through war or economic disasters, and who had built for themselves a good life and a high standard of living, were rightly proud to be able to provide for their children those things which they themselves had not had. And why their children, inevitably, took those things for granted. It meant that new values and new expectations had crept into our societies along with new standards of living. Hence the materialistic and often greedy and selfish lifestyle of so many young people in the Western world, especially in the United States.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“...it honestly didn't matter how we humans got to be the way we are, whether evolution or special creation was responsible. What mattered and mattered desperately was our future development. Were we going to go on destroying God's creation, fighting each other, hurting the other creatures of the His planet?”
― jane goodall

“We find animals doing things that we, in our arrogance, used to think was "just human".”
― Jane Goodall

“Of course, a great deal of our onslaught on Mother Nature is not really lack of intelligence but a lack of compassion for future generations and the health of the planet: sheer selfish greed for short-term benefits to increase the wealth and power of individuals, corporations and governments. The rest is due to thoughtlessness, lack of education, and poverty. In other words, there seems to be a disconnect between our clever brain and our compassionate heart. True wisdom requires both thinking with our head and understanding with our heart.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“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.”
― Jane Goodall

“And I thought how sad it was that, for all our sophisticated intellect, for all our noble aspirations, our aggressive behavior was not just similar in many ways to that of the chimpanzees – it was even worse. Worse because human beings have the potential to rise above their baser instincts, whereas chimpanzees probably do not.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“Hope does not deny the evil, but is a response to it.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“People said, "Jane, forget about this nonsense with Africa. Dream about things you can achieve.”
― Jane Goodall

“Oh, the world needs those standing on the Bridge, For they know how Eternity reaches to earth In the wind that brings music to the leaves Of the forest: in the drops of rain that caress The sleeping life of the desert: in the sunbeams Of the first spring day in an alpine meadow. Only they can blow the dust from the seeing eyes Of those who are blind.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“Only when our clever brain and our human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our true potential.”
― Jane Goodall

“Most of us don't realize the difference we could make. We love to shrug off our own responsibilities, to point fingers at others. "Surely," we say, "the pollution, waste, and other ills are not our fault. They are the fault of the industry, business, science. They are the fault of the politicians," This leads to a destructive and potentially deadly apathy.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“like our intellect, social media in itself is neither good nor bad—it is the use to which we put it that counts.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“But let us not forget that human love and compassion are equally deeply rooted in our primate heritage, and in this sphere too our sensibilities are of a higher order of magnitude than those of chimpanzees.”
― Jane Goodall

“We still have a long way to go. But we are moving in the right direction. If only we can overcome cruelty, to human and animal, with love and compassion we shall stand at the threshold of a new era in human moral and spiritual evolution—and realize, at last, our most unique quality: humanity.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“How can you stop yourself from yelling and shouting and accusing everyone of cruelty? The easy answer is that the aggressive approach simply doesn't work.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“There is a powerful force unleashed when young people resolve to make a change.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“THE OLD WISDOM

When the night wind makes the pine trees creak
And the pale clouds glide across the dark sky,
Go out my child, go out and seek
Your soul: The Eternal I.

For all the grasses rustling at your feet
And every flaming star that glitters high
Above you, close up and meet
In you: The Eternal I.

Yes, my child, go out into the world; walk slow
And silent, comprehending all, and by and by
Your soul, the Universe, will know
Itself: the Eternal I.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“At that moment there was no need of any scientific knowledge to understand his communication of reassurance. The soft pressure of his fingers spoke to me not through my intellect but through a more primitive emotional channel: the barrier of untold centuries which has grown up during the separate evolution of man and chimpanzee was, for those few seconds, broken down.

It was a reward far beyond my greatest hopes.”
― Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man

“I don't have any idea of who or what God is. But I do believe in some great spiritual power. I feel it particularly when I'm out in nature. It's just something that's bigger and stronger than what I am or what anybody is. I feel it. And it's enough for me.”
― Jane Goodall

“I don’t remember when first I heard Them calling, with their silvery voices, The little Angels of the trees and flowers. They offered to unlock my mind And take my soul away, to clean. And oh! I welcomed them, and lay Stretched out upon the fragrant Grass, light as an empty husk. Then they, with rueful smiles, did oil The rusty hinges of my mind, and swept Away the cobwebs, and hung my soul Upon a topmost bough, to air, Close to the purifying sun. And I was lucky For as it fluttered there, a robin chat’s sweet Song rose through the trees till every fiber Of my soul was bathed in harmony. When all was clean and new they fetched My soul and slipped it back and, smiling, Danced away. And I—well, for a day or two— I looked upon the world with all the Innocence and wonder of a newborn babe. And now, if I am sad, or filled With sudden rage, I find some quiet place With grass and leaves and earth, and sit there Silently, and hope that they will come And call me, with their silvery voices, And make me clean again, those Little Angels of the trees and flowers.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“forgiveness is how we unchain ourselves from the past.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“Without patience I could never have succeeded.”
― Jane Goodall

“There are really only two ways, it seems to me, in which we can think about our existence here on earth. We either agree with Macbeth that life is nothing more than a “tale told by an idiot,” a purposeless emergence of life-forms including the clever, greedy, selfish, and unfortunately destructive species that we call Homo sapiens—the “evolutionary goof.” Or we believe that, as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin put it, “There is something afoot in the universe, something that looks like gestation and birth.” In other words, a plan, a purpose to it all.”
― Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

“Some people say... that violence and war are inevitable. I say rubbish: Our brains are fully capable of controlling instinctive behavior. We're not very good at it though, are we?”
― Jane Goodall

“Children—and adults—who have a growth mindset are much more successful than those who have a fixed mindset about themselves and the world.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“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?”
― Jane Goodall, My Life With The Chimpanzees

“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.”
― Jane Goodall

“You were saying that hope requires us to work hard to make what we want to happen actually happen.” “Well, in certain contexts it is essential. Take this dire environmental nightmare we are living in today. We certainly hope that it is not too late to turn things around—but we know that this change will not happen unless we take action.” “So by being active, you become more hopeful?” “Well, you have it both ways. You won’t be active unless you hope that your action is going to do some good. So you need hope to get you going, but then by taking action, you generate more hope. It’s a circular thing.”
― Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

“I do have hope. Nature is enormously resilient, humans are vastly intelligent, the energy and enthusiasm that can be kindled among young people seems without limit, and he human spirit is indomitable. But if we want life, we will have to stop depending on someone else to save the world. It is up to us-you and me, all of us. Myself, I have placed my faith in the children.”
― Jane Goodall