The chemicals of life initially formed in a supernova explosion, fusing hydrogen and helium atoms to produce the "heavier" elements; these, in turn, combined to form molecules, the building blocks of all substances on Earth. The origin of life coincided with the appearance of DNA, which governs the assembly and function of all organisms, from bacteria to humans. Human DNA is the product of 3.6 billion years of DNA evolution, altered by random mutations, the incorporation of DNA from viral agents and countless recombinations of chromosomal DNA through sexual reproduction, all acted upon by natural selection.
Human DNA does not represent the endpoint of evolution but, rather, the current tip of one branch on the complex tree of life. Furthermore, our ability to live and reproduce on this planet is dependent upon the products of other life forms, most notably the oxygen released by photosynthesis and the nutrients provided by the various plants and animals that we consume. Knowing all of this, it is clear that we humans are part of nature, as connected to and as dependent upon other life forms as are all species on Earth.
Yet, our large brains, spawning imagination and creativity, have convinced may humans that we are a chosen species, distinct from and superior to the other life forms that share this planet. This belief, tied directly to the concept of spirituality, is invoked to justify our abuse of nature and our futile efforts to control her forces. Our final insult is the use of coffins, those cozy, hermetically sealed chambers for the dead, designed to protect our remnants from nature's recyclers. Though we are products of nature, born of her complexity, many selfishly decline to return the chemicals of life when their time on Earth has run its course.
