Endure to Evolve

The 21st century man occupies an unusual place in history. 

He stands before the whole cosmos, preparing to explore distant planets; he develops artificial intelligence, which soon may outpace the limits of human intellect. A near-infinite wealth of knowledge seemingly sits in the palm of his hand - he would likely be unrecognizable to his ancestors, just a few hundred years his senior. I might liken him to Icarus, both in ambition and potential for catastrophe. I digress.

Despite unprecedented technological innovation, some things just don’t change - instinct has a way of pervading all that we do; fundamental realities are stubborn. Man is, at his core, just a man - or is he more than that?

I’m reminded of the opening scenes of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey: primates, jumping and thrashing, breaking sun-bleached bones in a desolate landscape. There’s an uncanny, primeval familiarity to it all  - a stark contrast to the retrofuturistic visuals that populate the rest of the film. That scene has stuck with me, over the years.

What separates the cosmonaut from the caveman?

Socially, or interiorly, many arguments could be made.

But, physically and temporally? Endurance, over very long periods of time.

Modern man is the product of eons spent enduring - a near-cyclical march forward, oscillating between agonizing struggle and incremental growth. Thousands and thousands of years spent braving hardships of every kind and sort - struggle is quite possibly the most universally “human” experience. 

For much of time, physical endurance was the most immediate arbiter of life and death. The ability to track prey over long distances, quickly move communities across continents, and spend a lifetime in the elements was the standard. 

Natural selection was intensely felt.

Individuals and communities that were capable of physical endurance continued onward - others did not. This trend is clearly seen on a microscopic and macroscopic scale, all throughout recorded history. Those who physically endured, were the victors - and vice-versa.

I’m grateful that our ancestors didn’t decide to quit; perhaps we bear that very same responsibility - even in the age of spaceships, supercomputers, and office cubicles.

Learning to physically endure changes you - you’ll notice that many individuals capable of immense physical endurance also possess similar psychological qualities, even in modern times. I don’t find this coincidental - perhaps there’s something there…

Unfortunately, our historic emphasis on genuine physicality, and consequently physical endurance, has begun to wane - eclipsed by lukewarm, passive living and impersonal consumerism. Modern man is cocooned in creature comforts - yet he grows increasingly miserable and numb. Are they swaddling him or strangling him? 

Gut-wrenching effort is a tough sell.

See, historically, endurance was the ticket to any semblance of comfort - eat what you kill, so to speak. An unspoken physical hierarchy was the natural order - it still is the natural order, albeit camouflaged under various social structures and institutions; all of these other forms of abstraction rest upon the assumption of security and the capacity to physically endure - just ask Maslow, if you don’t believe me. 

Only in recent times did evolution become “optional.”

Don’t get me wrong - I’m certainly glad that most of us aren’t fighting for survival on a daily basis… but perhaps something essential, and intensely valuable, is lost by severing our connection to physicality and genuine endurance?

The body and mind are interconnected; perhaps, development of endurance is a pathway to very real knowledge and capability - physically and interiorly - a kind of knowledge and capability that can’t be gleaned from a textbook. While the immediate physical demand for it, on an individual basis, may be concealed and cast aside in our modern societies - it will always be a fundamental cornerstone of physical, human existence. It’s our work to maintain it.

Training to endure has the potential to equip us for whatever may appear in our futures: in outer space, inner space, or otherwise.