I absolutely love Jane Goodall - her passion for chimpanzees, animals, humans and the entire wellbeing of the planet itself is so admirable it is difficult to comprehend how one human being (now in her 80s) has managed to fit so much into one lifetime. I've been fortunate enough to help with the efforts of Jane Goodall Institute Australia recently, and just a few weeks back actually got to meet her (see my personal blogpost about this here)!! It's a memory I will never in my life forget, and one that reinforced my own life's purpose and direction.

Prior to my meeting with her I felt drawn to read one of her books called 'Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey' - it called to me not only because of my admiration for her conservation work, nor for her tremendous breakthroughs and discoveries as a primatologist, but for her spiritual experiences and journey in contemplating the deeper meaning of life. So when I picked up this book and read the opening paragraphs about her life changing and mystical visit to the Notre Dame in Paris in 1974, I was floored..

​​“We can no longer hear the voice of the rivers, the mountains, or the sea.
The trees and meadows are no longer intimate modes of spirit presence.
The world about us has become an ‘it’ rather than a ‘thou.’”
(Thomas Berry, “The Meadow Across the Creek,” in The Great Work, 17)

When Thomas Berry wrote this book almost 20 years ago he couldn't have predicted what would lie ahead....and yet in many ways this book was written as if by a prophet foreseeing the future!