One of my many guilty pleasures as of late has been the Discovery Channel program, Life, by the same people that made Planet Earth. I never got to see Planet Earth, but I hope to in the near future.
Living in a suburban community just outside of Pittsburgh doesn't allow me to see much of the wonders of the world. I used to lay in the grass and stare at the sky. In that sky are the vast possibilities of the universe. There is nothing like staring up at the sky and wondering just how many of the stars have their own galaxies, that support life or something we can't possibly concieve. The constellations are just the surface of the vast possibilities of the night sky. While it might seem blank and boring, I think about it as staring into history. In astronomy it is taught that a star could have met the end of its life, without our knowing because of the speed of light and the distance it must travel. Not only are we staring at the ghosts of the universe, we are also looking at stars that have been around long before our start on this planet. While those same stars were burning bright, our beautiful planet was simply dust floating around the cosmos. Then because of a convenient set of events Mother Earth was formed and filled with all the proper materials for life soup. In a blink of time compared to the life of stars, the Earth became populated by creatures coverd in strange cloth and walking on two feet, driving large vehicles, and building buildings that scrape the sky. It's simply amazing to think about. People use the phrase, "if these walls could talk," but what I am truely astounded by is the thought, if the stars could talk...
And the stars surrounding us isn't just the only wonder to behold. Much of the surface of the Earth is covered in deep water. The mysteries of the deep are quite possibly just as baffling as the mysteries of the sky. What lies at the lowest point of the earth? Is it completely barren and unpopulated, or is it quite the opposite and filled with a plethora of unknown creatures and organisms, the likes of which we could only imagine? and look at the whales. There is such a variety of them that they range in all sizes, shapes and colors. They are the human race of the ocean. They dominate their territories and are capable of many things. The Humpback Whale has such a complex mating ritual that Life just recently caught on tape most of the whole process, including the long and strenuous Heat Run. They only missed the whale fornication, that took place too deep for them to travel, and it has never been witnessed. Whales might not be as technologically advanced as us but they undeniably have intelligence and wisdom that rivals that of our own. Shamu will never "tweet" but he will cover more of this Earth on his very own than any one person could ever hope to.
And on Earth there lies even deeper mysteries. If you study the Evolution theory of Darwin, the basis of it relies on the fact of the "tree of life". At the trunk of this tree is the organism from which all life has evolved. and following the branches outward you will find the creature that we know today. Like a real tree, this "tree of life" is always growing with branches that reach out further and further, and evolution will continue until the tree dies, and with it, all of life. Walking the face of the Earth are creatures large and small. From grasshoppers, to bacteria, to human life, we all share a common ancestor, and share the earth.
It's amazing the shear volume of our world. Large burning balls of gas and rock surround us, some too far away to be seen at real time, and one that sustains our very existance. Compared to the sun, the Earth pales in comparison. Soon, through observing Whales and other large beasts, and the creations of man, to the very molecules of bacteria, it becomes apparent that our existance, and the existance of this planet means nothing. Without Earth or the Milkyway Galaxy the universe would suffer litte. So for now we have to appreciate the small slice of existance that we can embrace and comprehend. We are surrounded by beautiful creatures both large and small, each with a mystery of their own. We are but a blink on the timeline of everything, and even though we might cease to exist, there will be more to behold. After us might come another race of humanoid creatures, if they don't already exist. Or maybe planets will develop a consciousness. Barnacles attach to whales and other large sea creatures, who's to say that a living organism can't orbit through the cosmos suststained by photosynthesis and minerals from space debris and sustain its very own ecosystem. Afterall, we are but a barnacle on the belly of a whale.
No comments:
Post a Comment