Evolve! Naturally

“Look at me! I’m growing!” We have all heard this popular phrase. Often uttered in a self-deprecating manner when someone has tried something new or gotten past some hurdle. And it’s good. It’s good to grow, to try new things to step out of our comfort zones and ingrained patterns. The samskaras of the mind. But is it really growing? Is it authentic evolution? Evolution defined has several meanings but widely accepted as the gradual development of something from simple to more complex forms. I like to think that is what is happening to us on a macro level. We are evolving into a more complex form. Slowly….oh so very slowly. Think about it. We still live in a society which has monarchies, dictators, and spheres of influence so very corrupt, so driven by greed and fear, that we
can hardly, honestly, call ourselves fully evolved. Would a truly evolved society allow and even encourage hatred? Injustice? Violence? My personal opinion is no, and yes, I’m a Utopian. I do believe we will one day get there. Or we won’t. If we do not authentically evolve into something finer, more complex, peaceful, free of fears and hate driven egos we may not survive as a species. We, will consume ourselves, or the Earth will tire of our abuse and destroy us. We can see the signs of this all around us if we are honest with ourselves.
But the hope is in the evolution. All of our challenges as a society be they political, racial, environmental, or disease driven are part of the natural process. We are evolving. So much of our innate child-like simplicities are now out in the open. We stand in the wake of our failures. If we are interested in growing, in surviving, we will acknowledge where we have fallen short and change. We can no longer pull the blanket of comfort and denial over our collective heads and say this is not my problem. It is everyone’s problem. All of it, together, the web of connection is felt and experienced by all. There is no escaping it, and either we come to terms with this and grow, really evolve into a more complex form or we remain stuck…or worse.
I do not see our demise. I see a cultural shift, a painful new awareness, particularly among many of the young people, who are vital to the evolutionary process. My partner came home the other day with a tale about his co-workers six year old daughter whose favorite new phrase is to proclaim “Don’t be a tool of the patriarchy!” Yes. This gives me an immense amount of hope. A little female warrior standing in the middle of her kindergarten class in her power, using her voice, speaking truth. This is what we need more of. A natural evolution which trickles down to the smallest of the species and grows up right alongside them. The biggest voices in the smallest containers. The energy, the spirit, the initiative of change.
Look at me, I’m growing!