1) Earth has an infinite past that has always included life
2) The Earth as a planet has a finite past, but it (along with what made up the Earth) is in some sense alive, and life as we know it emerged from that life
3) The Earth has a finite past, and life has transferred to Earth from somewhere else in space
4) We are the Universe, and the Universe is alive
Or something else? I will try to tie it back to computers after this short intermission :)