What do we gain when we adapt?

Adaptability is a deep and powerful part of being human. It is on the path to enlightenment. There is humility in adaptability, for in it we understand that the world does not cater to our needs and demands but asks for our engagement to earn a place within it.

Dreams of ideals have often created a veil between me and adaptability. I still catch myself getting annoyed at poor UX, reflexively frustrated by a design that does not cater what I would expect. And those expectations may be totally reasonable! There's a lot of poorly-thought-out design, from websites to highways.

Of course, there is power for the dreamer whose chose a more exhaustive adaptation — not of themselves to the circumstance though. They may instead go on a quest to change the circumstance to be better for all of us. This is at the core of so much entrepreneurship.

But I'm thinking of it more on the day to day, more to the things of the world that are not ours to change, that we may not have the time, the will, or the resources to change. Adaptability is in part acceptance and surrender to an environment that is greater than we are.

I think of this often in meditation — when my back or neck aches, when my foot feels scrunched. Or when I am in a cold plunge, I think to adapt and accept. There is power in remaining calm in the pain, in accepting the discomfort knowing that the mind grows strong when it shifts from reaction to observation.

Adaptability is perhaps first and foremost practical. The pipe in my van's water-heater broke unexpectedly. I could have become upset at the circumstance, plunged into anger at the builder missing this, or wish to sell the van altogether. I'm thinking of the actual situation that happened today, ha — a pipe broke mid-drive, and my partner and I had to grab towels, clean up, and figure out how to fix the issue.

I'm glad and proud to say we took on the strength of adaptability. Pipe broke? Ok, let's do what we can, move on with our journey, and figure out how to fix it when the time is right.

Our stop in Phoenix led us to see some family of mine. It so happens they are very handy and knew how to fix our issue. Within the same day, we had our pipe fixed. I've got some pretty sturdy skepticism within me, but the quick turnaround for this fix felt serendipitous.

It felt like the universe smiled on us today.