Astronomers have been searching for life since the concept has been theorized...but there is already life...right here.

We take that life for granted...other beings such as ourselves pass right by us and we are oblivious to their very existance. 

We don't agree witht heir religion so we kill them.  We don't agree with their political views so we want to silence them.  We don't like the way they look so we hide them.  We don't agree on their choice as to whom to love so we wont let them marry.

This little oasis of life, proven by science to be singular in our solar system and rare in our galaxy, so far, but we are blind, so sadly blind, to the joy of life here.

We ignored the advice of Ernst Schumacher in "Small Is Beautiful", and the anti-Socialist fear mongers shudder at the very thought that he may have been right, that the mantra of consumerism is not sustainable and we are now paying the price on a global scale.

We need to appreciate what we have.  We need to appreciate the hopes and dreams of others when it comes to their wish to make a public bond of their love...even if they are of the same sex.

Our planet is small and our lives are short.

It is time to return to simple joys and the most simple of those is to love and be loved.