Honestly, as another busy earthling, there are rare moments when I remember to thank our planet and the fundamental values of the Universe, without which our life is inconceivable.
Knowing that this applies to all other people as well (which is no excuse for my inactions), we should try to bolster our stances of thankfulness for those fundamentals in a positive direction.
We take most of the cosmically lavish array of phenomena for granted, not realizing that a planet like ours doesn’t exist anywhere else in space. (As far as we know.)
To alleviate at least a bit of this omission of gratitude (sounds better than ingratitude), and for the sake of the incentive intended to arouse dormant dimensions of our lucidity, this article aims to enlighten the lofty magnitudes of space that were made to create us.
Why is this significant?
Gratitude in itself can be healing. If we also begin to practice gratitude for the generous hospitality of our cosmic home, we can greatly improve the quality of our lives and, consequently, productivity in our daily adventures. Not to mention the need to remedy the already severely damaged health of the Earth, and to contribute to its healing. Because, if our home is sick, we will probably get sick too.
To avoid a pointless day count, we should concentrate on developing new values. Every day is an opportunity to make a new list and action plan to fulfill invigoratingly our never-ever replicable lives.
This list is, as usual, finite and relatively short. But the possibilities of its expansion (beyond unpaid rambling) are endless because the topic it describes consists of so many essential building blocks that it is (almost) impossible to list them all at once.
The following 7 fundamental phenomena, without which we would not exist, make a list of things that we should constantly recall and be grateful for.
What should earthlings be grateful for on their planet and why?
Once upon a time, forces of nature were worshiped (justifiably) as deities.
Perhaps you remember that our ancestors (before the omniscient materialistic-anthropocentric phase) had gods of nature to whom they addressed almost daily. We are missing that now, although we cannot ignore the advances in the evolution of humanity.
Maybe our forebears were weak, but at least they had an awe of Mother Nature, realizing that without it, they were even weaker.
Now, something that is absolutely irrelevant to us in our mundane prodigal madness—the Sun, Air, Water, Land, Living Beings, and Humans, as divine entities, deserve altars in every home.
In order to initiate the elimination (in fact, alleviation) process of all destructive divisions in the world, deep awareness of these values is crucial in the joint venture of constructive unification of all people on Earth.
The Sun
This (on a space scale) small ball of hot gas (plasma) is most deserving of life on Earth.
Sympathetically named a yellow dwarf (although its colour is closer to white than yellow incandescence), its “dwarfism” is more than enough to form all the beauties of nature, in conjunction with other natural creators, of course.
But if the Earth were a little closer or farther from the Sun, or if the Sun had a slightly greater or smaller amount of initial hydrogen, life would be much different, or even non-existent.
So, any small change in the proportions of natural processes can create enormous differences.
Anyway, thanks to the Sun for existing and to the Earth that consistently follows it on its way through the Universe.
The air
Air molecules form a mixture with such a composition that small variations in gas ratios can be fatal. Although we can endure barely a few minutes without inhaling the air, we are far from the required level of gratitude and deep understanding of the importance of our atmosphere.
If we want to learn what the composition of the atmosphere looked like “only” a couple of billion years ago, how infernal it was, what preceded it, and what crazy luck we were to have at all, we can recall by visiting this location.
Or, even better, if you want to feel what a nice hostile atmosphere can be in modern hell, jump to Venus for a moment. Everything will be much clearer then.
Not grasping the pricelessness of air for health and life, humans have allowed themselves so much air pollution that it is becoming increasingly difficult to correct our mistakes. Because the longer the solutions to problems are delayed, the more we move away from their efficient application.
The water
Although there is water in the Solar System and other parts of the Universe, as well as many other substances that are known to us, such a quantity, in such conditions, in such processes as is the case on Earth, is a great rarity.
The basic medium of every living cell is liquid water, and another name for life has long been less formally but completely accurately referred to as – water.
Life has originated in some sort of watery environment, which means that without water it would not have been conceived. The more we are reminded of this, the more the planet and our descendants will be grateful to us.
How much drinking water is available to people on Earth?
Of the total amount of water on the planet, only 0.3% is somehow usable by humans. Most of that 0.3% is still unsuitable for drinking and other vital human needs.
Of this small amount, a growing share becomes polluted water, so the proverb “If we carry with us every day in bottles the water we daily need, we would consistently understand its precious value” is gaining in pertinence.
The land
Have you ever tried to land on Saturn? If so, you’ve probably noticed that it’s impossible, because that planet, like many others in space, is a gaseous giant. They do not have a solid surface, so in that case, we would only dive deep into the (otherwise) dense gaseous mass.
It is clear that such environments do not have livable conditions. On the other hand, Mercury, for instance, has a solid surface, but there is no water on it. Not to mention other hostile conditions. So we have no reason to seek anything livable on that planet either.
Land, as we know it on Earth, is an extremely rare occurrence in the Universe.
Humans are terrestrial animals. They are adapted to land conditions and cannot survive without land (for now).
There is evidence of the deep old age of terrestrial organisms, which makes the mainland primordially substantial to the evolution of life.
Some scientists even claim that the first cells likely arose in steamy mud pots on land.
But the present is most important to us: Is there such a suitable surface ratio between land and sea anywhere in the Universe that ideally supports life?
Without such an interrelationship between land and oceans, there would be no hydrological cycle, which is crucial for life on land.
Without land, there would be no soil, and therefore no plants, and consequently all other terrestrial beings.
The living organisms
Who knows what aliens look like and whether they even exist? Maybe we will never know.
Although many exoplanets have been discovered, as far as we know – none of them can sustain Earth-like life.
But, why is there life on Earth anyway? Mere coincidence, the right combination of events and factors, something third, or all of it together (plus those occurrences that we still don’t know much about)? A lot of things need to coincide and harmonize in order to create life anywhere in space. It is hard to clearly describe how lucky we were.
Because, no matter how vibrant life can be, there are forces and processes in the Universe that are applied to all ways of making things happen. This means that any small change in cosmic forces and ecosystems has unimaginable power to disrupt the stability of the existence of living beings that are essentially dependent on each other.
Our neighbor Mars is one such example.
Thanks to the position of the Earth right in the middle of the habitable zone in the Solar System (what a coincidence), life has been given a unique opportunity to conceive and evolve.
Much more than just food and warm clothes, all the natural beauties and the innocent love of animals towards humans (I would avoid the dark side of this relationship for now), as a phenomenon that occupies with lively verve a special place on every similar list of gratitude, cannot be expressed sufficiently.
If you don’t believe me, watch this video.
The humans
The importance of a thinking animal and its society is expressed in all spheres of life in which emotional health is a priority and essential need. Otherwise, the most notorious room in prisons would not be solitary confinement, and in modern “free” society – depression, as a disease whose trigger is the social alienation and (legitimate) weakness of the individual.
There is no exact figure on how many people are killed each year by depression and lack of love and respect, but that number is certainly not small. But it’s not the numbers that matter, it’s the aftermaths.
Starting from the psychological basis that feeds all other organs of society and every single organism, the essence of the healthy human environment firmly embraces the otherwise slippery summit of the list. Because if we are not warmed by disarming and supportive people, the Sun is slowly turning off, and the Earth is helplessly getting colder.
That is why we should be constantly grateful to all the people who make up our warm encirclement.
Why should earthlings be grateful for the Universe and its forces?
Although there are many theories about how the Universe came into being, and even the Big Bang theory has been questioned, the fact is that this vast space is the realm of everything we need. So, what is happening in our Universe is inherently important to us.
Beyond all the secrets of nature, the most peculiar and supremely decisive are the forces that govern the Universe.
They are all within us and around us, although no one but physicists and other scientists examines them profoundly.
The four fundamental forces of nature (gravity, the weak force, electromagnetism, and the strong force) enable the movement and existence of everything that occurs in the Universe.
- Gravity, as the universal force of attraction between all matter that has mass (or energy), is most noticeable to us in our daily existence. Albeit the weakest cosmic force, we cannot imagine movements in space without it, including the structures and evolution of stars, planets, galaxies, and the whole Universe. Still elusive when it comes to explaining it completely, we should not neglect its deity.
- The weak force, or weak interaction, acts on the subatomic level. It triggers nuclear fusion reactions that power stars, and create elements. Unlike the other forces that hold things together, the weak force is responsible for the process of beta decay (the process in which a neutron changes into a proton and vice versa), which is a normal stage in the circulation of matter and energy. Don’t let its “weak” name fool you: without it, there would be no us.
- Electromagnetism reconciles the two worlds – electricity and magnetism and operates on the principle of attraction and repulsion between charged particles (known as negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons). Opposite charges attract one another, while like charges repel. The greater the charge, the greater the force. Set into motion, the particles create a magnetic field around them as they move. The electromagnetic force plays a major role in determining the internal properties of most objects encountered in daily life. Without it, eternal darkness would reign.
- The strong nuclear force holds the nucleus together, preventing its falling apart. Its main role is to keep together the quarks that make up protons and neutrons and also to keep the protons and neutrons together within the cozy atom’s nucleus home. It actually binds the fundamental particles to form larger ones. Its responsibility thus extends to the entire sphere of the atomic nucleus, which poses an incomprehensibly small space for us. Small or not, this space is the inner Universe inside all of us, and it is as extremely crucial as its bigger counterpart.
Even more unfathomable, mentally strenuous, and scientifically challenging phenomena such as the invisible realms of dark energy and dark matter, and prospectively new forces, are the subject of some further discussions.
Other secrets of the Universe are even more mind-blowing.
All these cosmic phenomena and their interactions and intertwining, including an innumerable array of coincidences and hard-to-reconcile events, jointly create and enable the Universe as we know it.
Descendants of the stars
We are the descendants of the stars. All the elements inside and outside of us were formed in the process of atomic fusion in a large mass star (or stars) that lived in the space of our current Solar System. Later developments created our cosmic courtyard with the house in which we live. This is exactly the example where all four of the above forces (plus the ones we haven’t even figured out yet) have shown all their artistic skills.
Another interesting fact about the difficulty of life’s emergence is that the elements required to generate life (building blocks of life) are actually rarer on the periphery than at the center of our galaxy. This makes us even more unique and admirable.
On the other hand, forces and events immanent to the proximity of the galaxy’s center are sufficiently fierce to support life creation. So, although the difference in the proportion of elements in the stars and on Earth (including humans) is huge, the position of the Solar System on the peaceful periphery of our Milky Way galaxy also helped us to emerge and form.
There are many other phenomena and processes crucial for the origin and support of life. For example: the composition of the Earth and its motions, the Earth’s magnetism, the ozone layer, the gravitational force of the Moon and other planets in our Solar System, the size and composition of the Solar System, far-unknown forces and particles in the Universe, etc.
Knowing all this, one should not ignore the fact that God really exists, and that is – an absolute nature. It connects us all on a unique evolutionary path called – life.
Conclusion and the takeaway
There is no place in the Universe like Earth, nor is there a space like our Universe.
While scientists continue to hunt for clues of life beyond Earth, our home planet remains the only place in the Universe where we’ve ever identified living organisms. If we could grasp the beauty and fragility of all these phenomena, boldly embraced by a sublime notion such as divine dynamism, we might have developed a different perspective on the world where we live.
How much more does this need to be emphasized and written about? Knowing us, fragile humans, this need will last as long as we exist.
That is why the screaming thoughts of Charles Bukowski seem to be hardly degradable, although his intention was the opposite: “We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.”
On the other side of the rainbow beams the thought of Sir David Attenborough, who says: “We are, after all, the greatest problem solvers that have ever existed on Earth. If working apart, we are a force powerful enough to destabilize our planet. Surely, working together, we are powerful enough to save it.”
In the ample span from Bukowski, whose sobering reflections hurt to the bone, all the way to Sir Attenborough, who underlines the only right solution, we have a huge field of opportunities to make efforts in everyday life to become better humans, for the sake of progress that builds us all.
Digging through the depths of the Universe we often neglect what we have around us, forgetting that without each other we cannot, against each other we must not, as one or the other means – doom. By understanding this, it is easy to plant the seeds of the meaning of life.
There is certainly a lot of work to be done in this positive Earth psychology, and it is a feat for all hardworking people who love life. That is why this list is just a drop in the ocean of similar tasks that can help us look at life differently. And every drop counts.
Takeaway list to keep on hand at all times
So, what can be used now is a takeaway package that costs nothing and is worth costless, if consumed regularly by reading, reflecting, and building respect for all that we have.
The gratitude we owe to:
The Sun, which warms us
The air we breathe in
The water we drink
The mainland, where we live
The living organisms without which we are alone
The humans we need to hug
The Universe and the forces that gave birth to us.