Life on Earth … and Beyond
Rock Your Reality: Part III
The Rock Your Reality series offers simple facts to snap you out of your stupor, shake up your reality and ignite your curiosity.
Part Three: Life on Earth … and Beyond
Just about every inch of our beautiful planet has been explored by humanity, so it may come as a surprise to you that the vast majority of life on Earth is, as yet, completely unknown. According to latest estimates, only around 14% of the Earth’s living species have been properly discovered and described.
Unsurprisingly, the depths of the ocean remains one of the last frontiers for biologists, with less than 10% of all sea life currently identified.
When it comes to life on Earth, we have only begun to scratch the surface.
‘Out there’ is a whole other matter. In recent years, astronomers have steadily dismantled the age-old idea of us drifting on some miraculous planet, alone in our experience of conscious perception. In fact, the idea of life existing elsewhere in the galaxy (let alone the universe) has almost become a laughable certainty.
Despite our centuries of arrogance and self-centered posturing, NASA now believes that there are 1500 planets at a minimum within 50 light years of Earth and probably around 100 billion, total, in the galaxy. Of course, not all of these will be suitable for carbon-based life, but it does appear that cute little exoplanets, orbiting in the Goldilocks zone and able to support liquid water are actually a dime-a-dozen in the Milky Way.
In fact, a quick sample conducted by the Kepler telescope revealed there are around 10 billion life-sustaining planets in our galaxy alone.
We, as humans, have somehow come to see ourselves as righteous custodians over this experience called Life. We have come to believe that we are the pinnacle of life-force; the quintessential form of conscious being. But Life is far grander than that.
As recent discoveries show, we are a but a blip; a non-essential and nondescript expression of nature on a world teeming with more life than we can count, in a universe with more lifeforms than we can imagine. Life does not need us; it does not owe us and it will not fade if we are to fail as a species.
We are not special … but we are blessed.
Life (in all its forms) comes to us a gift. Perhaps now is a good time for us to stop ‘owning’ it, and start treasuring it.
Kim Forrester is an award-winning author, educator and intuitive consultant with over 15 years’ experience as a professional intuitive and spiritual teacher. She combines cutting edge science with traditional spirituality to offer the latest understandings of psi, consciousness and holistic well being.
