Isn't it nice to realize that every single one of our ancestors survived long enough to have babies? If any of them were not able to stay alive, stay healthy and survive their “coming of age” rituals, you wouldn't be here!
   You possess those successful genes that permitted your ancestors to survive diseases, wars, pestilence and accidents for at least 400,000 years — more than 20,000 generations.
    Charles Darwin refers to it as “survival of the fittest” and the fact you are here to read this article is fantastic proof that you come from a long, long line of survivors!

You should thank their coming of age ritual 
   In ancient times tribal management courses were not available, but its members knew that in order for their clan, tribe, group or alliance to survive, they had to insitute practices that ensured only their fittest got to create babies. Also, survival had to do with more than making babies.
    Food and shelter had to be secured, he had to protect himself against the elements, and defend himself against others. Weaklings, lazy people and under-acheivers were a drain on these societies. If they couldn’t fight, hunt, or gather, they were of no use. In additon to the “baby” thing, they were seen as a drain on resources and most often, were expelled from their communities. They were pre-historic remittance men without the remittance.
 
Wolves provide good examples
    When we study wolves today, we see an identical process ensuring the continuation of their species. Weaklings do not get a chance to mate. Alpha males and females get preferential treatment. Entire wolve packs takes care of their young. Any wolf that doesn't obey pack rules gets banished. Often, these banished wolves get together with other outcasts and create renegade packs. They seldom survive. Attempts to establish a territory are thwarted by other packs. Outcasts have no place to go and no future. They are weeded out. They don’t have babies. Their genes are not carried forth.
 
Original ritual could mean death   
     Usually at 13, candidates for adulthood— and making babies — had to survive in their wilderness for as much as a year. Many didn't come back and not because they didn’t want to. Most often, they died— killed and eaten by animals or other homo sapiens, starved, sickened, were seriously injured, frozen— or lost. These ancient “coming of age” rituals are still practiced by many of today’s aboriginal tribes while modern societies attempt a much weaker and essentially meaningless version of this ritual.
 
Religions contaminated the process  
    Religions had a lot to do with watering down coming-of-age activities. Originally, male and female childhoods were directed at the time they would come of age. For example, they began learning how to make fires awhen they were children. By time they were 12 or 13, they had to know how. Their lives would depend on it!
    When religions started to impose their influence on this process, they were more concerned with candidates serving religion’s gods than serving candidate's communities. Religion's excuse their approach with claims that by serving religion’s gods, emerging adults would be serving their communities.
    I believe a well-aimed arrow did more to stop invaders than well-intentioned prayer. Entire populations who had traded their bows and arrows for prayer books were subsquently slaughtered by non-believers, or conquering forces that pretended to believe.
    Modern societies celebrate these rituals but they are exactly that — rituals — with little of their original purpose remaining. There is more emphasis on words and study of ancient texts than preparing the candidate for what lies ahead. Also, instead of putting their lessons to use immediately, students and their society put off attainment of adulthood and maturity for at least six or more years.
    Thirty-year-old under-achievers who could never pass a “coming of age” test, can still make babies, consume our produce and enjoy shelter and protection. Many of them couldn't start a fire if their life depended on it, unless, of course, they had matches or a lighter. And if the only tinder available was a religious book or garment, their children would freeze to death.
 
Abundance encouraged non-workers  
    Mankind's evolution started when he was exclusively a hunter-gatherer. Necessity, invention and convenience introduced agriculture with its growers-harvesters. When supply of food and shelter were plentiful, there was more than enough food to support less industrious citizens.
    Among these non-working citizens were story tellers — spin doctors of their times. Some of them created gods and religions. They obtained their sustenance through their talent with words, stories, fables and myths.
   
Female preparation differed     
    Females were prepared for different roles. By the time they reached maturity (menses), they had learned to prepare food, make garments, gather wood, tend to domestic animals, and most importantly of all, take care of babies and children.
    Still, females were often treated like chattel, were raped and murdered by opposing tribes — unless, of course they possessed exceptional appeal, in which case they were taken off to help populate the other tribe or tend its children and lifestock so that tribe's females were freed to have babies.
    As religion and modern society have evolved, inequalities associated with female roles have not been eliminated. But there is at least one benefit — females tend to live longer. Over those 20 thousand generations, female industriousness resulted in females living marginally longer lives than males. It may take, however, another thousand years to reach an equitable balance in roles, opportunities and tasks for all male and female homo sapiens.
 
Evolution process has been hijacked  
    We now have entire nations that sustain themselves primarily with their words and pieces of paper. They don’t rely on hunting or gathering. Their agriculture is usually found in other nations. If they do grow their own, they import labor to tend their fields and harvest crops. They profit from ignorance — or assumed intelligence. They don't know how to grow a cabbage. But, they have babies.
     I can only imagine what kind of genes, memes, myths, morals and practices they are passing on to their children.
    Hopefully enough of them will alter this evolution process that now appears to be leading our world to a premature destruction. They are the ones who are learning how we are going to survive . . . without gods!