above Dame Jane Goodall by Wendy Barratt oil on canvas, 2023
Carrying Forward Jane Goodall’s Call to Hope
There are rare people whose presence becomes a guiding light. They remind us that wisdom is more than knowledge, that true leadership holds both compassion and courage, and that wonder itself can be a form of responsibility.
Jane Goodall was such a light — moving through the world with a quiet strength that invited us to see nature not as resource, but as a living community we belong to.
Long before she became the world’s wisest voice for Earth, she sat alone in a forest at the age of twenty-four and wrote to her family of being “filled with gratitude and awe,” sensing “something greater than us” in the silence between birdsong, in the shafts of light through the leaves. That moment of humility and wonder stayed with her always.
Decades later, she gave us The Book of Hope — not a manifesto of certainty, but a call: to act, to care, and above all, to keep alive what she called “that still, small voice of possibility.” Hope, for Goodall, was not a passive state but a form of courage — the daily practice of working, in small ways and large, toward the future we long to see.
She showed us that real wisdom comes from marrying head and heart: intelligence tethered to compassion, foresight yoked to reverence. She warned that growth without limits is a dangerous illusion, urging us to think in lifetimes, not quarters; to make decisions that serve not just ourselves, but generations yet unborn. She called us to shift our loyalty from economy to ecosystem, from selfish gain to shared flourishing.
Goodall also embodied what the Marginalian beautifully called a “conviviality between art and nature” — moving through the world in a spirit attuned to both the creaturely and the cosmic. She carried an aesthetic sensibility, a recognition that beauty, wonder, and reverence are not luxuries, but essential ways of knowing — as vital as data or analysis.
She has been one of my greatest inspirations. Her life’s work and her deep sense of wonder in the natural world are woven into my own creative path. My art series Hopepunk and Eyes Woven in Time were born from the very themes she embodied — radical optimism, guardianship, and the fragile strength of the living world. Through them, I have sought to echo her reminder that hope is not passive, but an act of defiance and care.
THE HOPE movie, by National Geographic, illustrates how one woman’s passion for wildlife and unshakable drive have persevered and set an example for future generations;
In recalling her letter as a young woman, and her Book of Hope in later life, the arc of her story feels prophetic: she never abandoned that first awe. She deepened it, turned it into resolve, and offered it to us as guidance. To honor her is not only to remember what she gave, but to recommit — to learning, to caring, to hope as a living verb.
As we carry her memory forward, may we also guard her legacy: to listen, to imagine, and to act — for all our species, and for the wild Earth that held her.
References
- Jane Goodall & Douglas Abrams, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (2021)
- Jane Goodall, Africa in my Blood – Autobiogrpahy (2001)
- Maria Popova, “Jane Goodall on the Meaning of Wisdom and the Deepest Truths,” The Marginalian, (2021)
- Jane Goodall Institute – janegoodall.org
Shared Guardianship
What begins as quiet reflection will take form in public space this October 10–13, 2025, at Art Fair ARTMUC Munich, where Novisali’s guardians — the Fox, Bear, Eagle, and Hedgehog — will be presented with Galeria Gaudi.
These guardians are not only symbols; they remind us of our bond with the living world. They are ours — part of our stories, our imagination, our belonging. And in turn, we are called to be theirs — to care, to protect, to keep alive the fragile threads that connect us.
As visitors gather, light, distance, and presence transform the guardians into shared experience. What begins as an inward reflection may unfold into a discovery carried together — a reminder that guardianship flows both ways, and that in honoring them, we also honor ourselves and the Earth we share. Read more about the Novisali at ARTMUC Exhibition
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About Novisali
Novisali, (alias Liselotte Engstam), is besides her roles as professional board member and advisor, a multi-media artist, with a curious, explorative mind and an ambition to learn and extend art experiences to current and new audiences using both traditional and new digital mediums. More information and exhibitions can be found via Novisali.com
This blog post is also shared at the blog of www.liselotteengstam.com, with the artist name Novisali.