Survival of the fittest, or Survival of a Story?

Survival of the fittest, or Survival of a Story?

'Survival of the fittest.'

I was reflecting on this quote, we’ve all heard it. Some even take it as truth. 

But pause for a moment—can you feel how heavy that sits on the chest?

To survive, you must be the fittest.

And if you fall sick, feel tired, or simply struggle—does that mean you don’t deserve to survive?

Can you imagine the pressure of carrying that thought through life?

Slowly, it seeps into everything.

Schools turn into competitions.

Workplaces into endless races.

Even life itself into comparisons.

And what gets lost is the joy of learning, the beauty of working together, the harmony of just being.

But look around you. Life doesn’t work that way. The trees, the rivers, the animals, the people—millions of them thrive not because they defeated others, but because life keeps giving.

So next time you feel that urge to prove, to be “better” than the next person—pause.

Ask yourself: Am I living with life, or am I chasing someone’s old fear, dressed up as wisdom?