Forged in the Stars
Forged in the Stars
Stars are overlooked as the little white dots which create symbols and occupy the sky, not as the forge of creation for all in the universe. All planets are made up of elements forged by the stars, exploded out into empty space then moulded together with the help of gravity. Even humans in essence are stardust. All oxygen in our lungs, carbon in our muscles, calcium in our bones and iron in our blood was created insides a star before earth was born. Even the periodic table we know and love from science class consists entirely of atoms formed at some point during the life and death of a star, all 118 known elements, atoms which the stars created to give birth to all that we know.
Stars begin with hydrogen burning helium in their cores allowing them to shine the universe with radiant light. Gravity, the mechanism behind this burning process pulls hydrogen and helium so densely together that they fuse, and this is where the next elements are born, carbon and oxygen. It is like a forge in the heart of a dying star, when there is not enough energy to repent gravitational pull, then the collapse of that gravity gives birth to new elements which refuels the process. Hydrogen and helium forge carbon and oxygen, which again fuses further into magnesium, neon, sodium and aluminium. It is an inward spiral of continual fusion, the core becoming hotter and hotter as new elements are created until finally the core gets to its final stage consisting of almost purely iron. This is where the fusion process stops. Millions of years of life the star has made all the common elements which make up 99% of earth, a ball wrapped atop each other in all the layers of these elements. Iron at the core of the star depletes all energy with it, gravity no longer has any resistance, creating an implosion, gravity collapsing in on itself. If this star is big enough, this implosion shatters, scattering all these elements into the universe of empty space. Gravity comes along. Gathers these elements, and pulls them together, wallah earth is created.
So, this construction of the earth was around 4.6 billion years ago. Throughout this time multiple species roamed the earth, enjoying the fruitful world this bundle of atoms provided. With the process of evolution around 100,000 years ago homosapians formed, us, from this point forward your ancestors are represented. Each new individual formed from prior intimate interactions between two parties, then with the upbringing of that child the cycle continues sprouting generations of more and more sapiens, hello exceedingly great grandma and grandpa. You may feel like the relationship you are in now, was quite lucky, somehow the stars aligned and you found your perfect other, or you’ve heard stories of how your parents met or grandparents and it just seemed to be a fortunate line of events which brought them together. Well, this has been happening for the past 100,000 years, and after all this time, here comes you, born into this blessed world which bestows upon you all which you need. If one of your ancestors did not meet or indulge in the other, guess what, you would not be here today. If one of your ancestors succumbed to one of those near-death experiences which seems to strike us all, you would not be here today. Think about this, even the slightest deterrence in your lineage and you would not have been born, yet we sit here on earth, twiddling our fingers about how life has it out for us.
Seems pretty lucky after all, for all of us. The makeup of a millennium of being forged in the stars, a habitable earth with an abundance to offer, billions of years in evolution becoming the dominant species of the planet, then a hundred thousand years of birth and rebirth in perfect alignment so that you may occupy this beautiful space you are in today. Complaining seems unappreciative in the grand scheme of things. Be grateful for the life you have had the blessing of obtaining. All else falls to nothing in comparison to what the universe has provided us.
