Despite extensive searches, we have found no evidence of life anywhere beyond our own planet.
No bacterium!
Not a blade of grass or other vegetation.
No radio messages from distant civilisations.
Absolutely nothing! The silence is deafening!!
There are billions of stars in our galaxy alone and billions of galaxies beyond it. Astronomers have discovered new planets orbiting other stars, many of which may support life as we know it. Water is common. The chemical building blocks of life are widespread throughout the universe.
But as far as we know, Earth is the only known home of life!
Perhaps life is abundant, and we simply have not found it yet.
I hope so. But until evidence appears, we must move to the obvious possibility: life is extraordinarily rare!
This is amazing! It changes everything!
We have always assumed that our planet had a special place in creation. But science has also taught us that we are only a small planet in the Solar System, a rather insignificant galaxy occupying a small corner in the vast cosmos.
Now we are slowly coming to a different conclusion. We may not be the centre of the universe, but we may have its greatest treasure.
A planet on which matter has become alive!
A planet on which life has become conscious!
A planet where conscious beings can ask questions about their own existence!
This is a privilege with a huge responsibility!
This thought has become even more urgent after reading “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert. Five great mass extinctions have already occurred during Earth’s history. The dinosaurs were victims of the fifth. The sixth is different.
If it is going to happen, it will not be caused by an asteroid or some new ice age. It will be driven by ourselves!
Forests shrink, habitats disappear and species vanish at rates above historic norms. Oceans fill with plastic. The atmosphere is polluted. We are changing the biological systems upon which we depend. We may be heading for extinction!
Perhaps the situation is not hopeless? Humans are destructive but also capable of creativity and cooperation. We have eliminated diseases, increased food production and reduced poverty. We have built institutions that have improved millions of lives.
But we must realise that we are no longer just passengers on planet Earth. We have become its custodians!
Think of this word. A “custodian” does not own what is entrusted to him. He cares for it on behalf of others. In this case, those “others” include our children and grandchildren, as well as the millions of other creatures with which we share this world.
This is where science, philosophy and religion converge.
Science tells us how rare and remarkable life is.
Philosophy asks what responsibilities we have.
Religion reminds us that we are stewards, not masters.
We have inherited a planet of great beauty and complexity. Blue oceans, green forests, coral reefs, birds, butterflies and human minds capable of love, creativity and wonder. We should not take this for granted!
One day, we may discover that life exists on many other worlds. But until then, we should act as if planet Earth were a precious jewel in a vast and silent universe.
The privilege of being alive may be rarer than we imagine.
It is therefore our duty to live well and do our best to look after our planet!
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