[About gorillas] You take these fine, regal animals. How many (human) fathers have the same sense of paternity? How many human mothers are more caring? The family structure is unbelievably strong.
When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Recognizing the importance of all living beings helps shift focus from past regrets to future preservation.
This quote by Dian Fossey emphasizes the significance of valuing all forms of life, suggesting that when one understands this value, it allows for a transformative perspective shift. Instead of being bogged down by past mistakes or losses, one becomes more dedicated to safeguarding the future and the vitality of life itself, fostering a mindset oriented towards sustainability and hope.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental protection, one might say, 'As Dian Fossey wisely noted, when you realize the value of all life, we must focus on the preservation of our future.'
More from Dian Fossey
All quotes βActive conservation [of gorillas] involves simply going out into the forest, on foot, day after day after day, attempting to capture poachers, killing-regretfully-poacher dogs, which spread rabies within the park, and cutting down traps.
If mountain gorillas are to survive and propagate, far more active conservation measures urgently need to be undertaken. The question remains, is it already too late?
When you realize the value of all life, you dwell on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.
My study of the wild gorilla is not yet finished, and even when it is complete, it will contribute only a small part toward man's understanding of his closest animal relatives, the great apes. But one conclusion is already clear: The gorilla is one of the most maligned animals in the world.
The mountain gorilla faces grave danger of extinction - primarily because of the encroachments of native man upon its habitat - and neglect by civilized man, who does not conscientiously protect even the limited areas now allotted for the gorilla's survival.
Similar quotes
My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.
It might be said that society speaks through the clothing it wears. Through its clothing it reveals its secret aspirations and uses it, at least in part, to build or destroy its future.
The volatile truth of our words should continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement.
If it is not totalitarian to arrest a man and detain him, when you cannot charge him with any offence against any written law β if that is not what we have always cried out against in Fascist states β then what is it?β¦ If we are to survive as a free democracy, then we must be prepared, in principle, to concede to our enemies β even those who do not subscribe to our views β as much constitutional rights as you concede yourself.
Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?
A building or a town will only be alive to the extent that it is governed in a timeless way. It is a process which brings order out of nothing but ourselves; it cannot be attained, but it will happen of its own accord, if we will only let it.