Baboon Mother

In the rocks high above the town where I live the baboons lead another life that is just like ours but also completely different. If you go in the early evening to the top of the rocks where the wind blows and no voices are heard apart from the barking of these creatures you will find your self-confronted by the true values that we should aspire to. These creatures do not have money and do not drive cars they have never paid 300 Rand or 75,000 for a set of headphones. They are not good on a cruise. But they share with us the real value in life. They enjoy themselves. They love each other. Ask yourself if you are confused like a baboon? Or if you are confused like a human being? What do you value?

I watch these creatures from the morning through the heat of the day and into the evening and I see their lives through the lens of envy. They are tough enough to live without the confusion, the wild nonsensical array of things with which we have surrounded ourselves. Their natural endeavor is simply to protect their young and feed themselves. They’re not doing it because they’re programmed to. They’re doing it because they love being alive. This baboon mother loves its baby.