Adaptive Mutations

I’m hesitant to call myself a writer. I’m more of a thinker and notetaker. I read, listen, observe, think, and ask questions. I draw from the wisdom of others around me. I could write a whole book by merely quoting and expounding on the nuggets of truth that my dear friends share with me.

Yesterday, my friend SW said this: “We can all learn to adapt to situations, but that doesn’t mean we are actually flourishing.”

Oftentimes, we can adapt to toxic environments. Like mutated frogs in contaminated habitats, we too may develop extra limbs. I wonder if malformed frogs imagine that they are better at multitasking because they have developed a few extra legs!

In rural areas with septic systems, the wastewater is channeled into a drain field far away from the homes. Most homeowners landscape over these drain fields with ornamental plants or a lawn. Even though this might seem like an ideal place to plant a vegetable garden, most rural residents know better. The risk of bacterial contamination is too high. Trees and shrubs with deep root systems are unsuitable for this area as well. Yet, some unwise residents will plant without consideration for what lies beneath. They base their decisions on the visible, the obvious—on what ‘looks good.’ They learn to adapt to the corrupted environment. They misidentify their malignant mutations as benign metamorphoses. 

Adaptation is not the same as thriving. Human beings can survive in a variety of environments—war zones, concentration camps, divorces, unemployment, homelessness, addictions, sickness, hunger, neglect, etc. Yet, very few of us would welcome these stressors. We would be reluctant to send our children into these situations, even though we know that they would probably learn to adapt. However, many of us voluntarily plunge head-first into circumstances that we suspect will be deleterious in the long run. Why? Because we convince ourselves that the obvious rewards outweigh the vague foreboding that we feel.