It is POSSIBLE that humanity is the current apex of universal evolution...
It is equally PROBABLY that there are millions of opportunities existing in the universe right now...
We just might be the very first to achieve what little we have (relative to our potential that is) and there just might not be any other sentient lifeforms out there.
Or there may be millions of civilizations and countless species more advanced than us; but we may all remain perpetually separated by the speed of light and distances too vast to cross and technologically impassable.
I really don't know which scenario I like less to be honest. The idea of having other species in other galaxies that might have been through this kind of madness that we have on Earth - where we are actively killing not just each other in wars and through exploitation but also killing the planet because of greed and "profit margins" - has always seemed comforting in a way.
I don't see myself as just part of life on this planet, but as part of LIFE in a general sense. I derive meaning from my existence in understanding that my actions while I hold my current form must make an impact on advancing the possibilities for LIFE (in the abstract, not in the daily form it has on this planet) to continue, to thrive, to go on after I have left the stage. This sustains me better than anything else I have encountered on Earth, but it also makes me sad to see so few others share in such an outlook.
Maybe there are others out there, and maybe there is no one else. Maybe civilizations with immense and incomprehensible wisdom are out there somewhere, but maybe we are the first ones to develop long enough and with enough technology to reach the infancy of possibility.
I don't know, but it sure is fun to consider the probabilities and possibilities!
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