Is there intelligent life out there?

Some postulate that the reason we have not found superior, alien civilizations on other planets is that they simply do not exist, having wiped themselves out by falling victim to their inability to morally and intelligently utilize the technology they created as they advanced.

For example, nuclear power was harnessed to create unlimited energy yet the development of bombs or the inability to deal with its waste devastated them instead. Computers provided unlimited access to knowledge, but also gave birth to Artificial Intelligence, which eventually destroyed its makers. Better transportation produced a smaller, more integrated world while the pollution it generated suffocated its population.

Every advanced civilization must cross that Rubicon. Without technology, it cannot advance; with it, it might not. It's a dark image and the basis of countless negative-utopia sci-fi yarns. Yet, the fascination of science fiction is that it dangles in front of us the question, “Could this happen?”

To the bigger point, do we now stand perched on that precipice? Will we, like lemmings, blindly stagger forward, pulling each other into the abyss, or will we collectively, gingerly, step back, arm-in-arm, instead opting to use what we have created to elevate ourselves and each other to higher ground and a place of cooperation?

None of us know. We can only hope — or fear.

The reality is that our present day will someday develop into someone else's history; our descendants will either be grateful that we were wise enough to avoid our destruction, honoring our wisdom and celebrating our choices, or there will simply be no descendants. There is no Plan C.

I'll be honest, I am often disheartened, angry, overwhelmed and frightened. I'm sure — just like you — on many days, it takes every speck of stamina and will of mind to place one foot in front of the other and stay focused on what is actually in front of me, keeping at bay the choking grip of anxiety about what might be. I get it; it's not an optimistic, upbeat vision, especially from one who espouses a spiritual philosophy of positivity and a belief in the “greatest good.”

Recently, I was asked, “As a practitioner, what would you tell someone who came to you, feeling as do you, asking for solace?”

I hate tough questions. After much consideration, I realized that the problem lies in the fact that we've come to think of our lives as TV sitcoms where everything gets resolved in 22 minutes prior to the episode's climax. Much of my disillusionment is that the credits appear to be scrolling and the series has not been renewed.

Perhaps, we perceive ourselves too narrowly.

According to Albert Einstein, no intellectual or spiritual slouch himself, energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. Should that be accurate, our energy — the atoms that make us who we are — has existed from the birth of the universe, and will continue long after each of us reenters the great mystery from whence we came and where we will be forever after — but we will still exist. Whether consciousness continues is a discussion for another place, but there can be no arguing that we — in some fashion — continue, enduring without end into countless tomorrows. Once we remove the constricting idea that everything that happens must be resolved in our limited time in this plane of existence, it frees up our thoughts to explore new concepts.

So, could it be that at a (hopefully) not-to-distant point in time, historians look back on these terrifying years and say, “That was the turning point”? Is it possible that the pain, anguish and war enveloping us is actually the catalyst where people of goodwill came together, stood strong, and spoke up proclaiming, “Enough! No longer will I hold my tongue while my brothers and sisters are persecuted and slaughtered. I choose truth and integrity in politics. I will make small changes to help my planet heal. As stated by others, “I will live more simply so that others may simply live.” When given a choice, I opt for compassion, inclusiveness and kindness instead of blame, marginalization and judgment. My voice and my actions are vehicles for peace and goodness.”

All significant change is born of pain, fear or force so it's not outside of the realm of hope and possibility that this horrifying, upsetting, disturbing period becomes the bright spark altering the direction of the future and, although we won't be there to physically see it (or who knows — maybe we will), it was the healing we needed to create a more positive world for our successors.

Said Margaret Mead, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” We might be small but we are thoughtful, mighty and we are gathering steam.

I don't know if there is intelligent life on other planets, but I have to believe that it exists here.