I have been helping Caleb with a report on Charles Darwin the last couple of nights. While doing this I have made a couple of observations.
1. Colleen Down was right when she said in her book
It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village, "Whatever our circumstances may be we can creatively find ways to improve our minds and keep ourselves abreast of the ever expanding world in which we live."
2. Charles Darwin was not an atheist who believed that man evolved from apes and
3. Evolution is alive and well in my family.
To help Caleb, we had to read about Darwin's life and experiences that led to his publication of the book "Origin of Species". Not a subject I would have chosen on my own, but oh well. We read anyway (creatively improved my mind!) He was actually a very curious man who came to love natural history and spent 4 years sailing around the world gathering specimans of animals, rocks, shells etc. and making observations about how these things changed over time to adapt to their environment and ensure the preservation of their species. He kept his ideas to himself for years as he wrote and studied many other things. He did not want to be at odds with the church, or be considered an atheist or prove disloyal to his family. In fact, he ended a friendship because he did not want to be associated with someone with radical evolutionary ideas. Eventually he had to courage to share his ideas with a fellow researcher, who was guarded but enthusiastic. He finally went public and published his book which was a best seller. People chose sides and expressed their ideas in heated discussions. As other naturalists took up the ideas, they wrote their own books and it is from them, not Darwin that we get ideas like man evolved from apes and the term "survival of the fittest". There you have the briefest summary of Darwin from my point of view! As I read this and other information about beliefs on evolution today I had a few of my own thoughts...one web site said evolution is fact and theory. Some things do evolve, we know that is a fact. "Natural Selection" or the ability to evolve into a species that can survive in a changing environment is proven by every age of human but especially one in jr. high!! Some things about evolution are still theory and hotly debated in forums every day. One thing Darwin believed was that once a species adapted to its environment, it would maintain those qualities or physical attributes and pass them on to the next generation so they could continue to thrive. I see that all around me. I watch Romney as she takes care of Jocelyn and I think she is much more equipped and adapted than I was when I had her. Even before Jocelyn, I have watched as my children "evolve" into adults and take on adult responsibilities much quicker than I think I did. I watch Heather and am amazed at her "evolution" into motherhood and handling all that life has handed her and Dave and she continues to adapt and get stronger so she can survive and pass those qualities onto her children. Jessica studied and travelled and adventured until she evolved into the amazingly talented person that she has become. I could write about all of us because I have seen us all evolve into the people we are because of the life experiences we have had. Some people do "die off" or fail to thrive because they are unable or refuse to evolve. I have always thought that each generation should be stronger if parents do a good job of passing off those qualities that they have developed so that maybe their children don't have to repeat the mistakes of their parents but rather are free to make some new ones on their own, thus ensuring the continuation of their species!
