This I Believe: Extraterrestrial Life Exists in This Universe - Essay Example

In terms of the awesome size of our ever-expanding universe, whose dimensions I can hardly imagine, I picture the location of our beautiful planet, Earth. I see that Earth is a little planet orbiting a minor star, the sun. The sun is but one star in the billions upon billions of stars in our galaxy. To go on, our galaxy is but one in billions of galaxies in the universe, and each galaxy has hundreds of billions of stars.

Billions of stars have their solar systems. Astronomers have already discovered about three hundred planets outside our solar system, which is but a small beginning. In this picture, I see that Earth is but a little piece of rock in a solar system that occupies a small space in a small galaxy in a vast, vast universe! How can life be exclusive to our planet alone? I believe that extraterrestrial life exists in various forms which are different from those on earth. When I allow myself to break free from the picture of ‘life’ only as it exists on earth, I can accept that extraterrestrial life is likely to be in forms adapted to the particular conditions of each unique planet.

I believe that there are billions of planets out there in the universe, each with its chemical environment, temperature, and atmosphere. An atmosphere of oxygen is specific to our Earth and our life forms are adapted to breathe this oxygen. Similarly, I am confident that extraterrestrial life exists in forms that are specifically adapted to other planetary environments. I picture a universe filled with an infinite variety of life forms. I am a firm believer in personal choice, and in the idea of man being the maker of his destiny.

However, at the same time, I am attracted by the idea of a Creator: I cannot accept that this awesome universe, and the miracle of human life, have evolved from absolute nothingness. I see this creative spirit, or power, or energy - my God - having greatness equal to the vast scale of this cosmos. According to me, a Creator who made a universe of such awesome proportions could not have confined life to just one small corner of it. My God is likely to have filled planets and galaxies with life as wonderful as that on earth.

I picture my God as the creator of multiple universes filled with the miracle of life in multiple forms. The vastness of the universe, the infinite was ys in which life can evolve, and my idea of an ‘unlimited’ Creator, makes me confident that life is not confined to Earth. Extraterrestrial life exists in this universe: this I believe.