17. 2026-06-17 / index

some bullshit “evolution doesn’t select for longevity, it selects for availability to reproduce, nothing past the moment of reproduction really matters”... I used to frame it internally that way too. but the medicine for nihilism is everywhere around us, the proof is in the pudding, etc - if evolution doesn't select for longevity then why does life still exist? it's been billions of years, how have we made it this far? surely that's "longevity" at least to us?

the most comfortable framings for me are ecosystems, where all things, perhaps including dead or dormant things, are living; living in and through the impact they have on present, into the future. every year of living enriches the individual well past whatever age they do or do not have a child, and it's all breathed back out to the community, the people, the being of the place.

this is not at all exclusive to humans but our perspective is human and we are quickest to anthropomorphize animals, and then imagine death as grisly alone, not natural, not part of goodness. but sure: let's say we, like every bird and every bear, die young, in the patient gaze of trees. gradate the life your pet dog lives: she's seven now, and she will probably die before she turns twenty. isn't that young? isn't that so young? or is it, really...?

the most annoying mosquitos are not the freshly hatched

(citation needed)