Here is a topic that will possibly -- profoundly -- change
your perception of the famous Darwinian phrase survival of
the fittest.

Now, I'm very confident (in the humble way, not the
arrogant way!) that very quickly, you'll see how simple
what I'm trying to share with you in this article really
IS. Indeed, one of the characteristics of all real wisdom
is that it's simple.

Of course, it may not seem simple at first; but once you
"get it," you can't help buy reflect and go: ohhhhhh yeah,
that's so simple!

The reason I'm sharing all of this, is because before we
can visit our good friend Charles Darwin, I'd like us to
visit one of my favourite films of late: The Secret by
Rhonda Byrne.

(By the way, if you haven't yet seen The Secret movie, or
mapped out its various beneficial aspects, borrow it from a
friend or do a search online and have a look, and you'll be
amazed at what you can learn -- and yes, it's simple!)

Now, in The Secret, one of the underlying themes that is
either overtly discussed or subtly alluded to, is that we
create our own reality. That is, reality is not something
"out there" -- it's as much an expression of what's "in
here" -- in each one of us -- as it is anything else. In
other words: reality is a dialogue between the outer and
the inner. We aren't passive observers who simply
"objectively" see reality for what it is. Indeed, real
objectivity does not exist. You may need to read that again
because it's a powerful, potentially transformative
statement of fact: real objectivity does not exist. And
that is the reason -- and the only reason -- why we create
our realities; or, at the very least, we contribute to our
realities in much deeper ways that we can "detect" using
our senses or our intellect.

So....what? Good question. We aren't done yet...

Another way of understanding this basic fact is through the
word filtering. We filter our reality through our
perceptions; and that means that WE SEE WHAT WE EXPECT TO
SEE.

Sounds weird? Yes, maybe -- but if we look into our own
personal experience, we can see that this is indeed quite
true. Do you remember being in love? Or the days after a
blissful, inspiring experience? How does the world look? If
you have to stand in line an extra few minutes because the
employees are chatting aimlessly, or you get stuck in
traffic longer than you expected, or it rains all the time,
or something else "negative" happens...do you care? If you
do, then it's just barely caring.

Now picture yourself on one of your BAD DAYS. How much
tolerance do you have for even the slightest inconvenience?
How do you respond to bad weather, to traffic jams, to
"rude people" at work or the daily, ordinary, frustrating
things of life itself?

Obviously, something has to be "different" about these
situations. The rain is the same. The traffic is the same.
The aimless talkative employees are the same. Everything
else is the same. YOU are different! Your perception is
different; your FILTER is different. You are simply
"changing" how you see reality; or rather, your
unconsciousness is changing it for you. That's why you can
go through a similar experience in two different "moods"
and experience wildly different emotions, and even conclude
wildly different facts. Those chatty employees can go from
being "carefree and playful" to "JUST PLAIN EVIL FIRE THEM
ALL!! AHHHH!"..... . :)

Now, with all of this in mind, let's jump over to Charles
Darwin and his rather oft-borrowed (and widely
misunderstood) observation that 'only the fittest survive'.

You see, in today's world, the people who tend to "use"
this observation almost always use it as a justification
for a very (very) aggressive approach to life. They see
life as a threatening jungle within which everything is out
to eat everything else -- or if not eat it, then harm or
destroy it "just because that's what things do in the
jungle."

But...ah, yes, you're thinking it with me now, right?
THEY'RE FILTERING! They're doing exactly what The Secret
says they're doing: they're seeing reality through the
filter of "dog eat dog." Naturally, they'll see this
wherever they look. In fact, they might see ten or even one
hundred examples of harmonious cooperation; but the ONE
time someone fights with someone else, they'll pay
attention, look at you and say: see? see? I told you!
Survival of the fittest! So what, really, does this tell us
about Darwin's statement? It tells us that Survival of the
Fittest does not mean what we think it means!

It does NOT mean that "only the strong survive." It means
only the aware survive, because only the aware are aware
that they're filtering! Only the aware -- that is, only
those who are grounded in the present and conscious of
what's really happening -- can adapt to reality and see it
for what it is.

That's what Darwin meant.

It's survival of the fittest, yes. But the fittest doesn't
mean the most aggressive. It means the most conscious; the
most aware.

Your task? Filter your world around awareness and
consciousness. See awareness and consciousness in your
life. When you look at a flower: LOOK. Don't think about
the flower, what it's called, whether it would look nice in
your garden, or whatever. Be conscious. Be aware.

Start small, and then keep adding more and more awareness
and consciousness into your life. Eventually, small things
will become big things: relationships, career, social
contribution. ..it will all be filtered through your lens of
awareness and consciousness.

About the Author:

If Darwin were here, I can only imagine he'd subscribe to
my blog :) I post almost daily and Personal Growth is a
real passion of mine. Please stop by and leave a comment.
http://selfhelpandmeditation.blogspot.com/