It took me a while to finish this book, because I kept it at work and only read it during my breaks. (Though now I've started a 600-page Longfellow compilation at work - who knows HOW long that's going to take!).
There's a few reflections on this book that I'd like to share (and you're here reading, and therefore get to read them!).
I have a great respect, more so than before, for Jane Goodall after reading this book. I also find that I have a great appreciation for many of her opinions on belief. She thinks that most of the religious differences are details, and that the faith, the spirituality, the belief and the wonder are the important parts. She is open to everyone who lives their life with integrity, regardless of the religious nuances:
"And what about those, and there are many, who do not believe in a God - those who are athiests? It does not make any difference, I thought. A life lived in the service of humanity, a love of and respect for all living things - those attributes are the essence of saintlike behavior." (p202)
She has had the experience of being faced with a situation that cannot be explained apart from by faith. It is something I've never had, though perhaps not looking at things through a spiritual lens makes the perception different. She had two children - her son, and a friend's daughter - come to her independently and say that they knew her husband had passed away, and had dreamed of him the night he passed. Sometimes children dream or feel things much differently than adults, and so I don't find this surprising. But it's something I always wished for, for some reason. Maybe I would believe more or more fully if something that couldn't be explained would happen to me. As a teenager, it was always a cure for alopecia - give me all my hair and I'll believe. Now as an adult I don't wait for such divine interventions. But it was fascinating to read about Jane's.
She has had times when she despaired, when the evil of the world overwhelmed her. She worried at one time if she "had been justified in bringing a child into such a hopelessly wicked place" (p186-7). And I felt astonished - I had never found it written so perfectly - the biggest reason why I'm scared to ever have a child. We haven't decided if we want to have a child, but if we did, I fear so much the world that we'd be bringing him or her into. But then I think of G and J, and how wonderful and kind they are, and I know it's possible to raise good kids. I felt a connection to Jane for having felt something I have felt so keenly.
I think that is the reason for her ever-enduring appeal - almost anyone can connect to her and feel a closeness to her. I read her spiritual memoir - a book I would ordinarily not even pick up. But at the other end of that book, Jane really makes me want to be a better person. That's why she's been so successful with her foundation and her conservation efforts, I think - because people connect to her. Including me.
Title: Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey
Authors: Jane Goodall with Phillip Berman
Published: 1999
Pages: 282
Total books blogged: 9
Total pages: 3180
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