If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here

-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. 

To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. 

humans are doubly lucky, of course: 

We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. 

It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.