Dear friend,
Of all the magic that exists, my favorite kind is the magic of hope. Hope is where every good thing can begin. To hope is to trust your dreams, to imagine something good and have the courage to summon it into reality. Without hope, I dare say no seed would ever be planted, no bread would ever be baked, no book would ever be written, and no cottage, or game would ever be done. And yet, hope is perhaps the hardest magic to yield, especially when the modern world seems so enchanted by the magic of destruction.
This is why I mourn the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall, whose wisdom and courage have been inspiring me for as long as I can remember. She spoke of hope, and dedicated her life to inspiring hope, because she loved this beautiful planet of ours.
Her work started with a long and empathetic observation of the chimpanzees in the distant forest of Gombe, in Tanzania. There, she was the first scientist in the world to observe that the chimpanzees can make and use tools, that they have beautiful personalities just like we do, and that they are compassionate and kind, and also sometimes angry enough to even go to war, like we do.
To honor the courageous and inspiring life of Dr. Jane Goodall, all money that is made through the sale of The Merry Fairy for the month of October will go to the Jane Goodall Institute. Dear friend, I encourage you to visit the link as well, and also check out Jane's Roots & Shoots global project, whose goal is:
"To foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for animals, people, and the environment."
Let us all remember that
"What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make" - Jane Goodall
