the meaning of life

here's what struck me:

*given the staggering array of life forms on earth, and the tenacity and adaptability of life forms that causes them to exists in even the most harsh environs, such as polar ice and sea-floor volcanoes, it's highly probable that life exists in other forms elsewhere in the universe.

*the fact that out of all these life forms that have existed in the history of this planet, only one is sentient, leads me to believe sentient life is certainly less likely to exist elsewhere.

*if we are indeed the only sentient life forms in the universe, that would lead me to believe not that we exist on some sort of higher plane, nor that it is the logical culmination of evolution, but that our sentience is some sort of biological fluke.

*this fluke gave rise to ego, with it's never ending curiosity, which holds that we are important and thus seeks out reasons to justify our existence, to figure out why we are important.

*also in our biology is a nuturing psyche, one that makes us feel good, or important, when we help others. this stimulates a chemical reaction that rewards our brain for our nurturing behavior. this biology has helped humans survive and eventually thrive on this planet.

*it says in the bible that god is love. this is the one sentence that, above all others, should be taken literally. god is not some disembodied voice from above or some wise old man living in heaven, god is an abstract idea, or perhaps even a chemical reaction in our brains.

*this is why we can chase after money or sex or accomplishments or drugs, which offer varying levels and kinds of stimulation to our brains, but these all fall short of the experience of unconditional love in our brain.

*the more of this love you give to others, the better you feel about yourself, you truly have to give to get. this physical experience in the brain, along with all other action/reaction physics, is the stuff of karma.

*thus your life is not at all important, but it is important to realize that this revelation should come as a welcome lifting of a burden or pressure, and not seen in a nihilistic, pessimistic light. realize nothing matters, this should free you to pursue your interests and dreams, and to not let fear of failure restrain you. life has whatever meaning you choose to give it, and history has shown that those whose life's held the most meaning were those that unselfishly gave of themselves.