» Fair ?
By Vince on September 14, 2011
Fair
We’ve all heard this since we were little kids, “That’s not fair!” In fact it’s been bandied about so often that we even have laws and organizations just about “Fair”.
See here:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade
- http://www.transfairusa.org/
- http://www.fairtradefederation.org/
And those are just the top three from a Google search!
What exactly does the term mean?
According to Dictionary.com it means the following:
(I’m not going to put all of them down due to space considerations and that it can get pretty boring! Feel free to look the rest of it up for yourself. You have the link.)
“fair
–adjective
1.
free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice: a fair decision; a fair judge.
2.
legitimately sought, pursued, done, given, etc.; proper under the rules: a fair fight.
3.
moderately large; ample: a fair income.
EXPAND
–adverb
18.
in a fair manner: He doesn’t play fair.
19.
straight; directly, as in aiming or hitting: He threw the ball fair to the goal.
20.
favorably; auspiciously.”
I find it on the humorous side that even states “a fair fight”!! As we all know, this does not exist outside of a legitimate sport fighting organization where “rules” keep things “fair”.
So let me tell you this:
Fair is a man made concept and does not exist in nature.
If it did, those cute little antelope babies wouldn’t get killed and eaten on the plains of Africa. People wouldn’t die in fires in Chicago; get an ass kicking in the Paris Metro or die of starvation in less developed countries. Diabetes, cancer and other diseases would not plague us. Sociopaths and war would not exist and everyone would live in harmony. Great concept…
EXCEPT…
Nature does not care. You can’t reason with it, you can’t offer it money or a better life or an education, any more than you could stop the sun from setting. Nothing!
It sounds harsh because it is. It’s called the Law of the Jungle for a reason. Darwin was absolutely correct. Survival of the fittest or as Darwin put it, “Natural Selection”.
Once again thanks to Dictionary.com for this:
“Natural Selection
–noun
the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.”
So we adapt to nature because it is not fair! It’s what’s gotten us to this point in our evolution.
Adaptation.
Which means basically; something that is changed or modified to suit new conditions and/or needs. We adapt to our circumstance and surroundings every day.
Yet this can get…uncomfortable…some folks have issues with change. It’s scary, on top of being uncomfortable. Or, we are just plain lazy and it’s easier to take the path of least resistance. Which leads to stagnation…and once again, it’s not fair.
Yet it’s what makes us adapt to issues, like being in the wrong place at the right time and being accosted by a predator. We have our “built in” fight or flight response but do we instinctively know how to use it?
I’d say most folks don’t. Some are naturals. Most are not.
Guess what? It’s not fair.
Nope, not at all.
BUT
Can we do something about?
Yes we, and more importantly, YOU can.
What to do?
Simple; look for the appropriate training in the skills you seek.
See? You’re adapting already!
Because you’ve read this far, it shows that you are looking for skills and, here’s the kicker, to change your mind set. Norman Vincent Peale said “Change your thoughts and you change your world”.
That, my friends, is mind set. That is adaptation.
So don’t care that, “it’s not fair”, do something about it. One of the first things I was taught about fighting is that you don’t fight someone else’s fight; you make him fight yours. Example: pick the time and place to be advantageous to YOU…guess what?
It’s not fair. For them.
Oh well. Natural selection.
You win or you die…and maybe get eaten…