“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
Albert Einstein
“The good man is the friend of all living things.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Watching the news as I do at least once a day, I like to see the end of the serious bulletin followed by a spirit-lifting report of kindness shown to people or animals in need. One time there was a crowd of people who lifted a train to free a woman’s leg that had become trapped between the platform and the train. A day later there was a story of two kittens born without back legs, but who despite their disability could walk and jump without problem, using their tails to help them balance. They were being well cared for at the Rescue Me animal charity in Liverpool.
And here is the important point: we are living in turbulent times and the bad happenings have to be balanced by highlighting the good ones that will always prevail.
“Through the Woods” by Yasmin Williams will soothe your spirits
A few years ago the international, heroic rescue of the young boys from a flooded cave in Thailand, and just this week the successful culmination of the rescue efforts to free 41 workers trapped in the Uttarakhand tunnel in India, generated such a feeling of goodwill and the realisation that when it is needed, we are united and the world is not such a bad place after all. Not long ago I read the blog of someone writing about the injustice in treating animals, and while it is a fact, the author concentrated wholly on the horrors, which almost left me feeling despondent. The same writer specialises in animal aggression and anger. We cannot perceive natural behaviour in animals in negative terms. Nature is red in tooth and claw. Comparing the lion or shark killing to eat with humans who murder or attack old people for money or strangers for no reason at all, would be hypocritical in the extreme. All reports of cruelty to humans or animals alike should always end with the response of thousands of ordinary, decent people all over the world who instantly start a tsunami of donations, and who are not only raising money but send messages of love and concern. This is why I believe in hope for mankind. Today I would like to write on the flip side of the same coin, the very good in helping animals by humans. And how animals respond to human kindness, even when in many cases they were previously subjected to neglect and cruel treatment. The world-famous writer and vet, James Herriot, whose books about his work sold in millions, wrote this observation after a life devoted to helping all sorts of creatures: “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”
A Breathtaking Piano Piece by Jervy Hou
In the village of Sourton in West Devon, the 14th-century St Thomas a Becket church was closed to the public for a good few weeks because a family of blue tits was found to be nesting in its lectern. So no worship for the congregation, no bell-ringing until all the fledglings had left the nest.
Battersea Power Station in London had to build a special new tower for a nesting site for peregrine falcons at a cost of £100,000 before being able to start reconstruction work. The falcons had used one of the station’s old wash towers as their nesting site and as they are a protected species, they had to have a new home built before the humans had theirs.
There is a wonderful story from the USA of a duck making a nest on the window ledge of an office building some floors above street level. Each year when ducklings are ready to leave the nest, a human chain of office workers and passers-by is hurriedly formed outside on the pavement. The tall men catch each duckling as it falls when pushed off the ledge by the mother duck, while other workers stop the traffic and exhort the waddling youngsters through the streets and to the nearby park with a large pond. I do hope you are smiling already and feeling better despite the despondent news of the last week.
There are charities set up by extraordinary people who care for animals that nobody else would help and usually they would have been put down. In those sanctuaries, the blind, lame, difficult because of horrific mistreatment by humans, and the victims of life-changing accidents are being nursed back to health, pampered for the first time in their lives and treated with love and respect. They respond with gratitude seldom seen in humans. Oscar Wilde observed this anomaly in humans by writing: “No good deed goes unpunished.” One such charity is aptly named Broken Biscuits, as these are always thrown away, and the couple who run it provides care and artificial limbs to dogs that have lost them or were born without them.
The Manor Farm Charitable Trust collects all animals that have been rejected or are in immediate danger of being put down and among many there are a one-legged duck and a blind duck, a troublesome donkey, an Anglo Nubian goat that had grown too tall for the liking of his previous owner and had been saved in the nick of time before being prepared to be shot, just to mention a few. The couple who run the sanctuary abandoned their business careers to look after their charges, and their previous skills are evident in the professional way they run the place and raise the £100,000 needed each year to feed and heal the animals.
The sanctuary in Los Angeles, ‘Hope for Paws’ is another place, among many, that rescues animals that are often found in dire conditions. We all know about the significant work of the Born Free foundation and the other charities devoted entirely to saving endangered species, elephants, rhinos, primates and many others. Quite recently a book ‘An Elephant In My Kitchen’ by Francoise Malby-Anthony detailed the extraordinary work of those people and the dangers they face daily from barbaric poachers.
This beautiful, deeply touching book also highlights the profound connection between us, humans and animals. After the sudden death of her husband, the founder of the reservation, the herd of elephants that he had saved from being shot for being ‘disruptive’, stood huddled together in front of the gates to the compound where she and her husband lived. How did they know that he had died that day? In her own words: “Science has no answers, but to me, their visit made perfect sense. When my husband’s heart stopped, something stirred in theirs, and they crossed miles and miles of wilderness to mourn with us, to pay their respects, just as they do when one of their own has died.” Since then, for the past few years, on the anniversary of his death, the herd returns to stand by the gates of the compound to mourn Lawrence, the man who saved them.
“Out of Africa” – Theme by John Barry
The spellbinding second movement (Adagio) of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major is the perfect accompaniment to these images of the African plains:
There is not enough space here to write about all the people who do their utmost to save the environment and animals but continuing to draw our attention to their often heroic work is essential, as it is our only hope for the future of mankind. The scientists in Natural Sciences and Environmental Sciences work on practical understanding of our past and present and in what way the changes we create now may impact our future. Humans are the biggest destroyers of life on Earth, that is a fact.
From overpopulation, plastic pollution of the oceans, pollution of the atmosphere and deforestation to concreting more and more green spaces. Phytoplankton plays a vital role as a source of food to marine life and in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but once it becomes even more endangered than it is now, it will affect our ability to breathe. Those who share the same beliefs and values must unite and act now. If we don’t save our planet, who will?
naturetails 
I wish Einstein had made this statement a bit more popular!
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Thank you, GP, for liking the opening quote! Any chance of reading the whole post?!
Joanna
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I did read the whole post, and it left me smiling, but in reality I’m afraid, these people are in the minority. You are right though, we need to concentrate on the good – maybe it will rub off on the abusers.
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Thank you so much, GP, for your lovely comments! I think that there are many people who unite in great need; the rescue of 41 miners trapped in the tunnel in India, or the reaction of many ordinary people when a madman attacked with a knife young children and the teacher
outside the primary school in Dublin. A homeless foreigner went to their add, removed the knife and got injured in the process. Within 24 hours many ordinary people raised over 300 thousand pounds to buy him a house and give him a better life. And during the wars there were many heroic people. That is why, I believe in humanity and our future. Hitler, Putin and other dictators will never win because love is stronger than hate!
Joanna
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I pray you are right, Joanna.
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Another excellent post.
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I am right because humanity survived and developed over thousands of years, otherwise would have perished a long time ago.
Joanna
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Fine essay. I’ve always been impressed by the amount of thought and effort that goes into each of your pieces.
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Thank you so much for your wonderful comments! I am inspired by nature to work diligently, and reading your words makes me happy.
Thank you!
Joanna
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Thank you, Kenne, for your kind comment, greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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My mother was a great animal lover.
Regarding Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Wikipedia notes:
“The concerto was the final major work Mozart completed; Wolfgang Hildesheimer has described it as the composer’s ‘last instrumental work, and his last great completed work of any kind’, and the critic Henri Ghéon called it Mozart’s ‘swan-song'”.
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Thank you, Steve, for your interesting, as aways, comments! I hope that your mother inspired your affection for nature and animals as we are all connected having started from the same source, the primeval soup the earth once was.
Thank you for your thoughts on Mozart, my most loved composer. In one of my posts, I wrote about Mozart’s pet starling, and his ability to whistle Mozart’s compositions.
Joanna
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Absolutely gorgeous post, Joanna and just what we needed to read today. Thanks the important reminder that we share this planet with other living, sentient beings.
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Another wonderful post dear Joanna. I will be back when I can take the needed time to absorb it thoroughly but off the top… amazing as always💕
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It’s time we started demanding that good news be shared! Drama and disaster sells, but why? It harms us, so why do we soak it up? Maybe it’s what we have become conditioned to? Happy stories such as you have shared here are uplifting, good for us and those stories do sell too, as you so rightly point out. James Herriot’s stories were popular worldwide. We never hear but a fraction of the good deeds done each day because the people who perform such acts do not need acclamation. We need very many more like you, Joanna, who go searching for these heart warming storied and make certain that they are seen. And many more David Attenboroughs, although there are few who could stand in his shoes. His energy and enthusiasm never seems to flag. How privileged are we to be able to view the extraordinary worlds that exist in previously unreachable places and all because of people like Attenborough and those who continue to develop technology in positive ways. Thank you Joanna, for your always positive posts! Much needed.
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Thank you, Carolyn, for your wonderful comments! In my reply to today’s comments I gave the example of people uniting in times of great need, if you have time, please have a look. You are right that a lot of good things are happening by we don’t know about.
As I told you already, I met Sir David, and he is a true gentleman of the old school.
Thank you, Carolyn, again, your words are greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you, Pat, for your wonderful comments! You have put your finger on the reason I wanted to finish this year on uplifting and positive tone. All the posts to the end of the year are about funny side of life or moving stories of someone’s extraordinary goodness.
Thank you, Pat, again!
Joanna
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What a lovely Advent gift, Joanna. Peace be with you this season.
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Thank you, dear Cindy, for your lovely comment! Take your time!
Joanna x
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You’re so very welcome, Joanna. It’s like an encyclopedia and your know me, I am slow but sure.💕
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Thank you, Cindy, you are dependable, that is sure!
Joanna xx
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Thank you, dear Pat, more uplifting post to follow! Blessings to you!
Joanna xx
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Namaste.
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Thank you, Pat!
Namaste!
Joanna xxx
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Oh, Joanna!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thank you! 🐘
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This is a lovely post after my own heart – so many heartwarming animal stories! Thanks, Joanna! Yes we do need good news desperately in these dark days, so here is a newsletter I get that you may enjoy – it combines your love of India and of positive action 🤗
https://www.thebetterindia.com/about/
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Thank you, Harini, I watched your recommendation, and will watch more later. You have put your clever finger on the reason for my publishing at the end of the year only posts that are either amusing or deeply moving stories of exceptional goodness of the heart as the post about the father of 1000 orphans is. Dhimant Parekh with his only good news is doing the same thing, as I do, distracting people traumatised by the horrific happenings in Gaza and Israel, also in the Ukraine, to remember that the world and people are not all bad or dangerous. Thank you very much, Harini!
Joanna x
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Thank you, Filipa, for your explicit and wonderful comment! I am so glad that you like it! The end of the year have to be in my posts free from horrors of the wars, and only inspiring and positive news will be here.
Thank you again, Filipa, your thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Joanna x
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Dear Joanna, your sharing of so many heroic heart warming stories is proof that IF the media focused on those kinds of stories, we’d be living in a different world. It’s sad to think our world is getting worse, before it will get better. We are now in December, the Christmas holiday. It’s a time for reflection, prayers and the hope that God has some miracle in store to help turn our world around for the better. If people don’t believe in God, then “something” needs to change, so our world moves in a new path. Wishing you a safe and hopefully joyful holiday season. Monica
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Thank you, Monica, for your thoughtful comments! I am glad that publishing only good news stories to distract us from the horror of the daily news, pleased all the readers. I don’t know how we can change the world for better, it probably will run its course, after two Wars I and II, there was a little bit of peace for a while. There will be lovely stories to enjoy for the next few weeks, I hope to see you again.
Joanna
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You’re very welcome, Joanna! We all need cheering up and reminding that there are so many good people around us.
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Couldn’t agree more, Harini! Regards to Topshe from Felicity.
One good news today, the climate summit in Dubai and the inspiring speech of King George III who ended with the excellent words:
“Earth does not belong to us, we belong to earth.”
Thank you again, Harini!
Joanna
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Wasn’t that ‘Mad King George’? He sounds very sane!
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We need to hear more about the good in people, and I truly believe there is far more good than not. Lovely post Joanna.
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When there is so much imbalance in the world it is good to remember, and celebrate, all the good things that surround us. Thank you, once again, Joanna, for this wonderful post reminding us of the wonders of nature and the innate goodness of so many people.
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No, Harini, this is our new king, after sad passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II! And he is very sane, devoted to the environment. He planted over 300 thousands trees on his estate, with a motto: Who plants the trees, plants happiness. He also build two beautiful towns where you have to live by the nature friendly principle. People almost fight to live there, no crime, no pollution and goodwill to all.
I have written about his work in my post How to plant Happiness, and his work with the young people who without money and guidance will get nowhere. He provides all to those who apply and wish to achieve something. And if you could see his gardens at his estate, it is the paradise on earth!
Joanna
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PS. I though your remark very funny and witty!
Joanna
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Oh, then I think you meant King Charles III, not George. Nice to read about the good things he’s doing. I was only aware that he is very pro-environment,
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Thank you, Joanna!
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You are right, apologies, I haven’t been drinking, just masses of comments to anwser, King’s speech, attending to my birds and squirrels, as it is minus temperature here, and they need lots of food and hot water to thaw their tummies!
Joanna x
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Thank you, Peter, for your wonderful comments! Your words lift my spirit!
Joanna
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Dear Joanna, your compassionate writing touched my heart this week, especially the story of two kittens born without back legs. It reminds me of people who have no hands, but they do their works as normal persons.
It’s disheartening to learn about the poisoning and maltreatment of various street dogs. I can’t comprehend the sadistic pleasure derived from such actions.
On a positive note, stories like the closure of a church for the nesting of blue tits are heartwarming, and we should share such good news more widely.
I agree with you that there are extraordinary people who take care of victimized animals. You have talked of organisations like Manor Farm Charitable Trust, Hope for Paws, Born Free Organisation etc. Here People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is also very active to ensure animal rights.
I appreciate your recommendation of the book “An Elephant in my Kitchen.” The issues of plastic pollution and deforestation are indeed causing immense harm to animals in various ways.
Special thanks for bringing attention to the rescuing of 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi’s collapsed tunnel. Your special post is truly appreciated. Thank you so much!
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Thank you, Dorothy, for your lovely comment! I share your believe as love is stronger than hate!
Joanna
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🎄💕
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Thank you, Kaushal, for your wonderful comments! Your words touched my heart! I am happy to receive such a extraordinary response
as most people are depress with the horrific news, and my posts at the end of the year mean to lift the reader’s spirit.
I am happy that there is help for animals in India. Gandhi campaigned to treat animals with respect, and that is one of many reasons that have his portrait on the wall and his autobiography on my desk.
Thank you, Kaushal, again for making me happy with your praise that is deeply appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you! xxx
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💕❤️💕
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That’s truly my pleasure! You’re welcome, Joanna!
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Thank you again, Dear Kaushal!
Joanna
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What an incredible post, Joanna, that is timely for me and truly resonates. I read and have the book, An Elephant in My Kitchen, which made me fall in love with the amazing creatures. Nature is where I find solace, along with family time. And it just seems like the news is depressing every day. There is good out there. There is beauty out there, which is what we should focus on when our spirits are low. I remind myself now and then. Thanks for sharing and wishing you a peaceful holiday season.
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