Hope and A Childhood Dream

...[C]onservation is a continual series of challenges-the fight for conservation never ends-and so I exhort you: press on to meet new challenges, for they surely await, and will always be waiting for those who strive to keep the earth fit for life in all its many splendored forms -Tom Cade

I've been reading Jane Goodall's "Hope for Animals and Their World." And I love the book! I just love it, I love Jane! Once more, Jane lives up to her image as one of the most inspirational figures in conservation, having inspired generations of conservation biologists.

I have yet to write a full entry on the book, but one message is clearly evident in each and every one of its lovely pages: a message of HOPE.

I can't wait to write about this book! I especially like the book's two concluding chapters on Jane's reasons for remaining hopeful amidst a grim neighborhood of beauty and destruction, and on her reasons for conserving endangered species. The latter of which I find endearingly close to my heart.

Right now, my plans are to pursue a career in conservation, in spite of the vast challenges--personal and environmental--ahead. I recognize few people understand conservation. And I don't have to look far for such people: my parents and even some of my closest friends are some of them. After all, why conserve species, the natural world when millions of people are starving? Isn't my dream selfish? Is conservation a well-meaning, yet misguided cause? And this is one of the things Jane discusses in the final chapters of the book. Individuals who dedicate their lives to improving those of non-human beings invariably come in for criticism from those who believe that such efforts are misplaced in a world of suffering humanity (though this is not to say that conservation does not benefit humans, for we are, after all, just one of the many forms of life that inhabit the earth). Time and time again, Jane proves to be a colossal inspiration in guiding those of us who do understand on how to face such resistance. I love her!