Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Not A Survivor

I'm sure that you are all familiar to some extent with the theory of evolution. Whether or not you believe in evolution v. creationism is another debate that I'm not going to get into. All I'm saying is that I'm sure everyone is aware of this theory, yes? Ok, good.
So according to Darwin, species are able to evolve through the concept of "survival of the fittest". This means that if you are lucky enough to be able to adapt to new life styles, habitats, environments, or to stay alive in trying situations, then CONGRATULATIONS, you are a master of evolution!
This being said, I'm pretty sure that I am not a survivor.

As a prerequisite for evolution, all intelligent organisms are endowed with the "fight-or-flight" reaction. This means that when faced with any sort of crisis, most people and animals have the ability to either run from the issue (a popular choice for most species) or fight it off. When it comes to physical matters, I am not capable of this reaction. Instead of opting for either choice A) Fight, or B)Flight, I chose option C) Freeze in place and wait to die. It's like my instincts are actively trying to stop me from perpetuating my genes.

(As a caveat, I don't seem to have this issue when it comes to mental/emotional crises. I guess my instincts value my mind more than my body. Stupid body.)

You think I'm exaggerating? Let me explain to you my biggest evolutionary flaw.
The first time I realized that I lacked any sort of survival instincts was when I was about 7, give or take. I was playing around in the kitchen with my sister, and there was this reasonably big Ficus tree that my step-mom kept in a pot by the doorway. I was running into the kitchen and dropped to my knees to slide through the door, but misjudged my speed and went careening into the pot. Some how I ended up on my back with the Ficus tree falling in slow motion towards me. I had plenty of time to get up and get out of the way to avoid being smushed, but instead, I just stayed where I was and watched the tree fall on top of me. After a few similar instances where I was in immediate physical harm but chose to do nothing about it, I realized that this was not normal. Most people either try to get out of the way, or to try defend themselves. These options never even cross my mind when I am faced with physical crises. I just immediately accept my fate and wait to die. Trust me, I wish that my first thought when a car is rushing towards me is "Oh my God, I should probably get the fuck out of the way before I get smeared". But instead, it goes more like "Oh my God, this is going to hurt so bad. I wonder if this will actually kill me, or if I will just have to pay a huge hospital bill. I hope my mom's insurance will cover this."

It's amazing that I've lasted this long. Not only am I unable to cope with impending physical harm, but I seem to put myself in situations where good survival instincts would be helpful. (You can refer to my scary homeless man story.)
Since I seem to be able to cope more with mental and emotional stress better than physical stress, I've come to the conclusion that maybe I am just so highly developed that my body is no longer a priority. Maybe in the future, none of us will even have bodies; we'll all just be floating brains or personalities that interact telepathically. Maybe that's what I'm all geared up for, and my body is just keeping me from reaching my full potential. But seeing as we're all still walking around with skin and organs, I'd say that's a pretty gross misjudgment on my part.
And that is exactly the type of mistake a non-survivor would make.

1 comment:

  1. Don't be surprised if the survivor instinct kicks in after you have someone who depends upon you - like a darling little Alex, Nica, or Brendan. Suddenly, you will be able to chew through steel to keep yourself alive, just so you can protect the munchkins. I stopped taking the bigger risks (like skydiving and paraplanes)when Ah-lex made her debut! Ta-dahhh!
    I like the floating "brains/spirits that communicate telepathically" image. But then what would Avon sell?

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