Adaptation

Asics running shoes do not adapt to jungle hikes. iPod batteries do not adapt to extreme humidity. Paper products do not adapt to rainy days. Inanimate objects do not adapt... Fortunately for us living beings adaptation is one of our greatest strengths. We can see evidence of it every day and it becomes increasingly evident as we venture into more extreme environments. But why? Why have some trees developed spines that cover their bark? Why do butterflies have such unique coloring? Why do parrots have such large beaks? How did monkeys learn to hang from their tails? And most importantly, why can all of my students climb a tree faster than I can climb a flight of stairs? Herbert Spencer called it "survival of the fittest." Charles Darwin called it "natural selection." I call it doing what we have to do. What other option is there?

Well, usually it's not an option at all. It's rarely a conscious decision. Every day a new adaptation appears without anyone blinking an eye, and it's not until much later when we look back and reflect on the changes that we realize that something very profound has happened. Today marks my one month anniversary of arriving in Ecuador and as I reflect back on the last month I am impressed by the changes that I have undergone. 

Okay, so some of them aren't that impressive... Some of them are obvious surface changes that I have made as I become accustomed to a new lifestyle. An ice cold shower doesn't phase me. Sleeping under a mosquito net seems pretty standard. I can't remember why I ever needed to eat a meal with a utensil other than a spoon. Three hours of electricity a day is more than enough. Three and a half days does not seem like an unreasonable amount of time to download a two minute song. Continuing to sleep after the sun comes up seems like a ridiculous waste of time. These are all adaptations that happen quickly. A few days with these changes and it's hard to remember how things were before. What other option is there?

Other adaptations, however, are a little more subtle, they take a little more time, and they are a little more impressive. they aren't as noticeable but they are happening all the same. When I get a bug bite, my skin doesn't react quite as violently as it did a month ago. When I wear pants and long sleeves on a hot and humid day, I don't sweat quite as much as before. When in hike from the high school to the lodge, my balance is just a little better along the path than it used to be. The body is an amazing thing and I'm sure there are physiological explanations behind each of my examples, but the reasons don't really matter. Whatever the cause, the changes are happening. What other option is there?

Then there are the most impressive adaptations of all. They are impossible to see and impossible to quantify. Yet we look back, we reflect, and we know they have happened. They are the changes that happen within our minds as we are exposed to new surroundings. We become more open, more accepting, more grateful, more thoughtful, more aware. Little by little we become a different person all together. I know this sounds a little daytime-television-talkshow-ish, but if I look back at myself one month ago as I was boarding the plane to Quito, I know I was a different person. And I know one month from now I will have changed even more. The process of adaptation is continuous and it is not easy to explain. The combination of factors is complex. However, if we allow ourselves to adapt, the results will be very positive. Those that don't allow themselves to adapt will struggle. Only the strong survive. So, what other option is there?