Hello,
It is another opportunity to walk down the paths of wisdom with Leke Alder as he admonishes Jack once again in his weekly letter to the young man.
This time, he takes a journey into the animal kingdom to extract some life truths that will help Jack as He travels through life. You will learn something. Read on…
1. Dear Jack, I am not ordinarily interested in wild nature or safari but for some reason I tuned to Animal Planet on Saturday. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
2. And my wife and I became riveted by the narrative of the rehabilitation of a chimpanzee named Charley into the wild. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
3. Charley had the scars of life all over his face. His face was marred and sad. He had been rescued from man's cruelty. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
4. I actually thought he was a baboon until my wife corrected me. They all look the same to me! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
5. Baboons are different from chimpanzees apparently. And not just because they have red butts. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
6. (Baboon is derived from Middle French "baboue". It means grimace. This probably explains my attitude! :)) #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
7. Charley is a very gentlemanly chimpanzee, not one given to brutality or other animalistic tendencies. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
8. In other words, Charley should never have been born a chimpanzee. He was made for civilised society. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
9. For reasons I'll soon make apparent Charley always made for the electric fence. He suffered repeated shocks as a result. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
10. Had the fence been rigged with lethal voltage Charley would have died several times over. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
11. Chimpanzees are supposed to learn from painful experiences but not Charley. He went repeatedly for that fence. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
12. In one particularly unpleasant episode of going for the fence Charley was strung on the wires. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
13. Like a spider's victim caught on silk ropes, the more Charley struggled the more entangled he became. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
14. Only God knows how many volts coursed through his veins in the 3 minutes before the game keepers switched off the mains. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
15. It was a painful thing to watch. He was literally roasting on the wires in acute anguish. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
16. And the question kept troubling my mind, why-was-he-always-going-for-the-fence?! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
17. Whatever he was running from was more traumatic than the jolts from the fence. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
18. He had decided he'll rather die trying to escape than remain in the game park. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
19. Desire for freedom and emancipation can be that strong. Charley had counted his cost. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
20. A minute after Charley was disentangled from the fence it became apparent why he was so desperate for freedom. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
21. As he fell to the ground, the other chimps (four in number) descended on Charley. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
22. In his weakened state he became an even fairer game. They beat, pumelled, bit and tore into him, wickedly. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
23. So vicious was the attack that the game keepers began to fire shots into the air to give him temporary respite. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
24. Then they sought to lure the bullying chimpanzees away with food. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
25. The game keepers were beyond the fence. They were most frantic. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
26. The food lure and the threats of violence finally worked. Else Charley would have been murdered. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
27. Seeing Charley wail was so heart wrenching. Chimps are so human in pain and suffering. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
28. The fence voltage was switched off. A game keeper crawled under the wires and dragged Charley out. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
29. Before that could happen though he was sedated with a tranquilising dart shot into his back. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
30. Now you understand why Charley would rather die making for the fence than stay behind the fence. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
31. Mind you this game reserve in South Africa was huge. Yet four baboons made the enclosure very small for Charley. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
32. The question my wife kept asking was, why did they turn on Charley? Why indeed?! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
33. And how very much like chimpanzees humans behave. We turn on people and gang up on innocents. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
34. We bite with sarcasm, rend with the violence of words, slash with hatred, greedily gorge on entrails of slander. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
35. Those with superior or unique graces we seek to destroy even when those graces are for our benefit. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
36. Envy and malice characterise us. We even feign to defend the reputation of God with malice. How can evil be holy?! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
37. We cast stones at those caught in flagrante delicto yet we're in flagrante collecto. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
38. Our pile of stones reflects the pile of our secret sins. When we throw stones we are only projecting. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
39. Those most versatile with stone haulage and projectiles are usually the biggest sinners. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
40. We behave like the chimpanzee community going after the weak and wounded. We revel in the misfortune of others. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
41. We have turned life into a zoological enclave of ravaging baboons and chimpanzees. Baboons 'R' Us! #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
42. We forget that when we lose the attribute of compassion we lose all that makes us human. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
43. Charley needed surgical intervention after rescue. He had a long gash on his back. His nipples were torn off. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
44. One finger was almost severed. His mouth was bloodied. So vicious was this attack. Even the game keepers were traumatised. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
45. And so the chimpanzee rescued from human cruelty suffered another round of cruelty from the brotherhood. #Letr2Jil
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
46. And I saw life. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
47. A game keeper said something poignant. He said Charley was physically and psychologically battered. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
48. That he had to forgive the humans for what they did to him and then has to get over the attack of his brethren. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
49. Even chimpanzees are required to forgive in order to be healed. Forgiveness is always for our sake. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
50. Forgiveness is the salve of a wounded and injured soul. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
51. The peculiarity of the organic physiology of the soul requires the compound of forgiveness for healing to commence. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
52. The wound will remain fresh without forgiveness. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
53. Forgiveness heals us from the inside on the inside. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
54. Forgiveness puts us on a superior pedestal, high over our abusers. It is a moral high ground. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
55. It's the only way to overcome. It's a place of strength, a place of power, a place of freedom. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
56. Forgiveness is a stepping stone, the stepping stone into a future without shackles, manacles and barnacles. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
57. It took three months for Charley to recuperate physically but it took much longer for him to overcome the trauma. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
58. Sometimes life chooses to process us through extreme difficulties. We call them trials. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
59.Trials build our character. Trials mature us, teach us patience. Trials make us strong and wise. Trials correct us, refine us. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
60. Charley was sent to another sanctuary. He found love in that sanctuary. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
61. Love will eventually find you. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
62. It may take some time but love will find you. #Letr2Jack
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
63. I wish you love, both now and always. Your mentor, LA. #Letr2Jack ©Leke Alder
— Leke Alder (@LekeAlder) August 31, 2013
That’s it, folks. Forgive! Love will eventually find you.
God bless you loads.
Cheers.
P.S.
Did you miss this Letter to Jil titled, “Data ‘R’ Us”. Click here to read.
