The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

by Jane Goodall

“Hope,” Jane said, “is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so.” Jane grinned.

Think of your dog waiting in the window for you to come home. That’s clearly some form of hope.

“Sometimes, I think, ‘Well, why on Earth do I feel hopeful?’ Because the problems facing the planet are huge. And if I analyze them carefully, they do sometimes seem absolutely impossible to solve. So why do I feel hopeful? Partly, because I’m obstinate. I just won’t give in. But it’s partly also because we cannot accurately predict what the future might bring. We simply can’t. No one can know how it will all turn out.”

“I guess the depth of our grief is a reminder of the depth of our love.”

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.

“I am feeling wonder and awe about this incredible world we live in. And the truth is, we’re destroying it before we’ve even finished learning about it. We think we are smarter than nature, but we are not. Our human intellect is amazing, but we must be humble and recognize that there is an even greater intelligence in nature.”

She learned not to hide from the darkness, just not to get lost in it.”

we need nature, but nature does not need us.

But it helps if we believe that in the end, even though we probably won’t be around, nature will deal with the destruction we have caused.”

“There is a famous saying,” Jane continued. “‘We have not inherited the Earth from our ancestors but borrowed it from our children.’ And yet we have not borrowed it from our children. We’ve stolen it! When you borrow something, the expectation is that you will repay. We have been stealing their future for countless years and the magnitude of our theft has now reached absolutely unacceptable proportions.”

I can only tell you what it means to me. It’s my energy force, an inner strength that comes from my sense that I am connected to the great spiritual power that I feel so strongly—especially when I’m in nature.”

In a way, our disconnect with nature is very dangerous. We feel we can control nature—we forget that, in the end, nature controls us.”

‘Well, when you die, there’s either nothing, in which case, fine, or there’s something. If there’s something, which I believe, what greater adventure can there be than finding out what it is?’

It all points to the importance of using our creativity, our clever brains, and understanding and compassion, to create a more sustainable and ethical world in which everyone can make a decent living while existing in harmony with nature.

Please believe that, against all odds, we can win out, because if you don’t believe that, you will lose hope, sink into apathy and despair—and do nothing.