Inspiration from Jane
It’s been a bit, as per usual. But who is looking in their inbox and wondering, “Is Katie writing something today?” Even when my favorite writers send out their latest posts, I find them to be a pleasant surprise when they arrive; I don’t wonder where they’ve been. I hope you feel the same.
Lately, I’ve been channeling my writing energy into a book project (more on that another time), but today I am feeling inspired to share a bit of the hope and positive energy I received yesterday from Jane Goodall with you. Consider me a humble messenger. I do not want to be a dead end, a place where her excitement pools and stops; I want to transfer what I can on to you all.
Lincoln Park Zoo hosted Jane for a luncheon fundraiser yesterday in Chicago. I was excited to have a seat, to again see this icon inspire those around me to care for chimpanzees, our planet, and each other. I had met Jane before, and I’d heard her speak at events and on radio programs. I felt pretty familiar with her message and demeanor. When someone in the audience asked who her favorite chimp was, I knew her answer before she said it. Being someone who is fully bought in on the idea that we should protect chimpanzees and our planet, I didn’t expect to feel any new surge of energy or gain any new perspective. But I did.
Dr. Jane Goodall DBE & Dr. Megan Ross, President & CEO of Lincoln Park Zoo inspiring hope at the Women Supporting Wildlife Event.
Jane said all of the things that I expected. But, despite being a 91-year-old person traveling 300 days a year, she had the drive and the energy to connect with the room and speak seemingly off the cuff about how our understanding of chimpanzees sheds light on our treatment of one another. She spoke not so subtly about the presidency, Gaza, and Ukraine. Jane said that while we may be a more intellectual species, chimps are wiser. She spoke about the importance of being good to our earth in simple ways that are in our control. She was not asking the room to donate money to conserve chimpanzee forests or fund poaching patrols; she was asking people to care about the street they live on, the people and places they touch, and to use some of our species’ extraordinary intelligence to do more good.
I was on a panel for a Chicago Public Library event a few weeks back, and somebody in the audience asked how humans are unique from our close primate relatives. Despite having a long history with this question, something new came to mind that day. I talked about our capacity to work with each other - across geography, across time - and the potential that gives our species to do great things. Whether we harness this potential or not is a different issue, but we have the capacity. What Jane was saying hit that same hopeful nerve again, but bringing it back to the level of the individual, to us, to me.
I am part of a meditation group, and recently we were reading something from the Buddhist author Pema Chödrön. She said, “Train to not be afraid to be a fool.” If I allow myself, I can think of a dozen ways that this blog post might seem foolish, but if I don’t pass on a little bit of the good intention Jane instilled in me yesterday, that seems a worse offense.
Thanks for reading.
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Learn More
Want to do a little good for primates today? Help end the private pet trade by letting your representatives know you support the Captive Primate Safety Act. Find your representatives phone number here.
Hear more from Jane Goodall in her most recent book, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times.
Learn more about the Buddhist teacher, Pema Chödrön.
Check out one of those favorite writers that shows up in my inbox from time to time: Oliver Burkeman.
