The process of evolution gathers itself up ceaselessly and remakes itself over and over again in time. With every remaking, evolution becomes a process more able to alter itself. The mathematics of evolution is not driving it toward more flamingos, more dandelions, or more of any particular entity. Instead evolution moves in the direction of actualizing itself. Life is the substrate for evolution.
Life provides the raw material of organisms and species which allows evolution to evolve further.
Without a parade of complexifying organisms, evolution cannot evolve more evolvability. So evolution generates complexity and diversity and millions of beings and thereby gives itself room to evolve into a more powerful evolver. Any self-evolver must be a coyote trickster. The trickster is never satisfied in remaking itself. Every time it takes its tail and turns itself inside out, becoming a thing more convoluted, more flexible, more lobed and frilled, more dependent upon itself, it rests less and less before it grabs its tail again.