In Sight of Shadows

         Humankind in its youth must have felt quite alone looking into the inky black of the night sky; dotted by pin pricks of light. Some of those early peoples thought those points of light were just holes in the cloak that surrounded the Earth after the Sun went away. There were no thoughts of distant stars like our own with similar bodies of rock orbiting them; no other places with eyes looking up into their own flecked darkness. It was an atmosphere of such depressing loneliness that we went about trying to produce proof of our unique superiority. We built monuments to represent our greatness, religions to represent our purpose, and civilizations to represent our mastery over nature. It was endeavor enough to help us forget about asking if we were truly one of a kind and accept our solitude. Imagine the surprise and whirlwind of justification when science gave humanity a more complete picture. Billions upon billions of stars fill the crannies of space and many have Earth-like planets orbiting them. It is no longer reasonable to wallow in the disappointments of ancient beliefs that have shaped our wars and cruel traditions of hatred. It is a time to rejoice in our interstellar plurality. After all, we are no longer alone.