The Bigger Picture

I want to close by looking above. Not at our planet, but another planet: Mars (search).

Next Wednesday it will be the closest it’s been to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, within less than 35 million miles -- close to half its normal distance.

Imagine, the Neanderthals were the last ones to see this planet so close to our planet. I wonder what they thought when they looked up in the sky and saw that big red planet.

Did they ponder time and distance?

Did they know in 30,000 years, they'd be gone and the human species would be evolving further?

All the events that were still tens of thousands of years off.

All the wars raged and un-raged.

All the empires built and destroyed.

All the inventions, triumphs and tragedies.

Tens of thousands of years before Moses and David, Buddha and Jesus. Before the Egyptians, and Greeks, Persians and Romans.

Before the Hundred Years Wars and World Wars, turf wars and political wars.

All in a cosmic blink of an eye -- a snapshot in time, snaps yet again. Catching us at this moment obsessed with issues like Iraq and curious events like California.

Sometimes we are so fixated on the moment that we forget it is but a moment. Just like we are. Just like the Neanderthals were.

We do ourselves good tending to our troubles on this rock we call Earth. But it doesn't hurt to put it in perspective as we glance away from Earth.

Sometimes it takes a snap of a picture to get the big picture.

But time's a wasting. We better rush out there and take a peek, because we won't get this chance for another 284 years. But who's counting?

Watch Neil Cavuto's Common Sense weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on Your World with Cavuto.