We advance our pursuits of acquiring and practicing the axioms of learning, but this journey must not end with a finite number of years of formal education. As is the case of weathering and erosional processes sculpting the mountains, valleys, and terrain of the planet, our efforts should become a lifetime journey born and advanced by an ability to formulate questions, followed by a constant search to seek answers to them. As we mature in age and stature, we cultivate an enhanced appreciation for the miracle of one’s ability to self-reflect, and a sensory awareness that enables us to address some of the more esoteric questions that have been asked by philosophers throughout recorded history. How did we come to exist? Why are we here at this instance in time? Have we been here before? What is our purpose in this short span of life on the planet? How do we move about functioning as individuals, but also as an assemblage of inhabitants throughout the world?

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There is a plethora of naturally occurring events than have happened throughout the Earth’s past history, and they likely will continue well beyond the point in time where we cease to exist. Events such as planetary collisions from matter moving about in outer space, volcanic processes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other extreme weather and climate events are generally beyond our control. What we do have some control over is whether as a species capable of reasoning, organized thought, and advanced decision-making we can continue to develop intellectually through a sustained effort to learn.