#UULent Day 8 #humility

“I’d like to be remembered as someone who really helped people to have a little humility and realize that we are part of the animal kingdom, not separated from it.” –Jane Goodall

Alexandria brought this picture home last night from her grandmother’s. I haven’t seen it in years. Of course, it brought me lots of joy to see a younger me holding my baby and remembering the trips we used to take frequently to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We loved to go there and spend the day with the animals. I especially loved to show her all the primates (monkeys and apes). I spent some years studying anthropology, and of course, primatology is a big part of that. In those years, we learned much from the research that Jane Goodall did studying chimpanzees, and from Dian Fossey, who studied gorillas. And I have to say, humility was one of the biggest lessons that I took away from all that. Yes, we are a part of the animal kingdom. Not only that but we, as humans, are not the only intelligent, sentient creatures. Gorillas have long been misportrayed by the media and misunderstood by humans, which has contributed to their endangered status. They are intelligent, gentle giants. As Dian Fossey wrote, “Gorillas are almost altruistic in nature. There’s very little if any ‘me-itis.’ When I get back to civilization, I’m always appalled by ‘me, me, me’”. Indeed, humanity would certainly benefit from some lessons in humility. What do you think?