Darwin the Optimist?
Is survival of the fittest an optimistic point of view?
When God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, evolution kicked into high-gear. Adam and Eve either evolved to the point where they could survive off of the land or they would perish; and God didn’t give them a severance package, there was no safety net for Adam and Eve. However, If you look around you, there is evidence in every corner that our progenitors did survive, they did evolve and that we continue to evolve.
In the mid to late 19th century, a philosophy of “Survival of the Fittest” began to flourish. Essentially, Survival of the Fittest means what it says and stems from the belief that those who do not survive were unfit to live.
Before I continue, let me tell you a short story. I recently became a certified scuba diver. I appreciated the depth of knowledge and experience my scuba instructor imparted to his students; of which I was one. He taught us in detail the steps of gear preparation and maintenance, dive preparation and equipment use in the water, he taught us safety procedures at the surface and underwater, he taught us hand signals for underwater use and he taught us to never dive alone.
Scuba diving, he taught us, is the only sport you do on life support.
Perhaps you think I am crazy for even wanting to scuba dive, perhaps you think scuba diving is too extreme or perhaps you think scuba diving is just kind of boring. In scuba diving and in life in general, one wrong move and your number or mine could be up. The fact of the matter is, any one of us could be called to meet our maker at any time and each of us knows someone whose number came too soon. Whichever way you feel about scuba diving, sky diving, canyoneering or any other extreme sport, you have to admit that life is fragile; life is fleeting. We must make the most of life; we must go and do!
In the centuries leading up to the 19th century, health, wellness and medicine were not well understood. Diseases and death were more common yet understood less. So, in the 19th century, survival of the fittest meant people could live; that there was a way. Survival of the fittest meant people had more control over their destinies. Survival of the fittest is a motivating factor; if I do this, I should see this result. If he can do it, I can do it and maybe even a little better. Survival of the fittest is only exclusive if you allow it to be. So, we continue to grow; we continue to evolve. We see others succeeding and and we know we can succeed too.
To all of you optimists out there be the fittest, push through the difficult times in your life, follow the examples of your heroes and then become the example.
To each of you, I say SURVIVE!
Be optimistic,
Brian
