The Ten Trusts by Jane Goodall

The Ten Trusts

by Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall steps away from her chimpanzee research and teams up with Marc Bekoff to present ideas, stories and life experiences to show how humans need to better their lives to help save animals and our earth.

To celebrate Jane Goodall’s new book, Hope for Animals and Their World, i will be reviewing some of my favorite Jane Goodall books.  Goodall teamed up with Marc Bekoff, author of many animal books including Smile of a Dolphin which i recently reviewed.

About The Ten Trusts

Goodall and Bekoff have set forth 10 trusts that humans must follow as the custodians of our planet.  What this means is that as humans it is time for us to notice the destruction we are doing to the planet and all it’s beings and change our ways.  The team presents the ten trusts that if followed, we will surely live life harmoniously with all beings.

The overall message is obvious, be good to all animals, plants and humans.  If everyone follows the ten trusts i am sure the world would be a better place.  In fact, i feel this book is so important, i see it as equal to John Lennon’s amazing song, Imagine.

The First Trust:  Rejoice That We Are Part of the Animal Kingdom

Jane Goodall has helped prove that humans are indeed animals by studying the Chimpanzees at Gombe National Park.  In her early observations, she noticed Chimpanzees making and using tools which redefined the deffinition of what it is to be human.  If you have ever watched any of the great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas) you may have noticed how similar we humans are to these astonishing animals.   To me, it is quite obvious that those animals are our closests living relatives.

Did you know that if a human is in need of a blood transfusion, they could use the blood from a chimpanzee as long as the blood types matched?  We commonly swap diseases with the chimpanzees.  We share about 98.7 percent of our genes with chimpanzees.  Chimpanzees can not communicate with spoken word like humans, but they can in other ways:  kissing, embracing, holding hands, tickling, swaggering, throwing objects, shaking a fist, punching, hugging, comforting and so on.  Chimpanzees can form hunting parties to hunt monkeys, they can crack open nuts with stones, learn American Sign Language and learn to paint.

All of those things are so very human like, but isn’t it amazing that chimpanzees can do the same things as us?  The first trust shares many stories and facts similar to this to help you understand how intelligent and loving animals can be so that once we understand them, we will want to save them.

The Ten Trusts To Live By

Here i will give you the Ten Trusts that we should all follow.  Please buy the book to read more about each one:

1. Rejoice That We Are Part of the Animal Kingdom
2. Respect All Life
3. Open Our Minds, in Humility, to Animals and Learn From Them
4. Teach our Children to Respect and Love Nature
5. Be Wise Stewards of Life on Earth
6. Value and Help Preserve the Sounds of Nature
7. Refrain From Harming Life in Order to Learn About It
8. Have the Courage of Our Convictions
9. Praise and Help Those Who Work For Animals and The natural World
10. Act Knowing we are Not Alone and Live With Hope