It’s so easy to use a simple word like “evolve” because I know exactly what I mean when I use that word in a sentence. To define the word makes one actually think about its meaning and try to explain it. That can be quite difficult, indeed. A friend asked me to explain more about what I meant when I posted “Lecture #123,456,789 admonishing people to evolve. I will attempt to answer the question…
The origin of the word: < Latin ēvolvere  to unroll, open, unfold
The dictionary defines the word “evolve” as: to come forth gradually into being; develop; undergo evolution. Or in biological terms: to develop by a process of evolution to a different adaptive state or condition.
My admonition that we evolve as a species concerns our psychological and spiritual development. Humans, like any other animal on the planet, are creatures of habit. Subsequently, we lock ourselves into routines and patterns, and that extends to the way we conceptualize the world we live in, along with our function within it. We like to put boxes around our understanding in order to feel in control, comfortable and capable of negotiating our lifetimes. We like it simple, explainable and uniform. Anything outside of the norm throws us for a loop.
What I am suggesting is that our evolution has been stymied by the established patterns of understanding over the past several thousand years. We learned how to use fire, how to make tools, how to farm the land, how to build permanent structures. We expanded our use of language, our understanding of the universe, our knowledge of biology and geology and psychology. We developed new and better tools and medicines and weapons and vehicles to transport us. We landed on the moon and constructed giant telescopes to study galaxies, and high powered microscopes to study cells. We advanced so very much. And then we stopped.
I’m waiting for us to start evolving again.
Why would we, for example, ever accept Jesus Christ’s statement that “the poor will always be amongst us” as being a perpetual reality we should only concern ourselves with marginally? (After all, what’s the point if we could never eradicate poverty?)  Why would we not instead develop the tools and the infrastructures and most importantly THE WILL to make poverty, hunger and homelessness passe throughout the world?
Why not make meditation as normal to every human being so that as a species we learn to value quiet, serenity, stillness, peace of mind? Certainly self knowledge, heightened awareness and calm would do a lot to promote peaceful conflict resolution rather than armed violence. Why not apply ourselves to ending violence and war?
I fear that I could go on a very long time about this. Suffice it to say that I truly believe that “where your mind is, there you are. where your heart is, there you are. just as action follows thought you can be whole again, be healed again…”
It’s time for us to apply our collective will and intelligence towards our very personal evolution as a species. None of our fantastic machines and physical creations can ultimately save us from our primary adversary: our egos.