Gombe National Park, Tanzania
With words and narration by Jane Goodall
I remember I was struck by the harmony of color in the forest
Shades of yellow and green
Deepening to the browns and purples
And the way the vines curled up through the trees
Clinging to twigs and branches
The gentle breeze rustled the leaves so that the shining stars of light gleamed and winked
I was keenly aware of secret movements in the trees
I looked into his large and lustrous eyes
They seemed somehow to express his entire personality
His serene self-assurance
What an amazing privilege it was
To be utterly accepted thus by a wild, free animal
I lay there part of the forest
And experienced again that magical enhancement of sound
That added richness of perception
I was awed by the beauty
And I found myself thinking, this is where I belong
Together the chimpanzees and the baboons and the monkeys
The birds and insects
The teeming life of the the vibrant forest
The stirrings of the never still waters of the great lake
Formed one whole
All one
Hello Gombe.
Hello world.
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Created in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute Learn more at JaneGoodall.org
Audio read by Jane Goodall from Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey by Jane Goodall with Phillip Berman Copyright © 1999 by Soko Publications Ltd. and Phillip Berman. Used by permission of Hachette Audio. All rights reserved worldwide.