The existential perspective

Everything I’ve done has been slightly existential. And it’s because I think this life is amazing and so finite, and you can’t have it again, so all you can do every day is ask: am I making the most of today? And by making the most of today I mean: did I laze around thinking of funny things to say, and then open a bottle of wine at six o’clock and watch telly with Jane and the cat?

Ricky Gervais, on the Sam Harris podcast

As best we can tell, there’s no god. No externally-given purpose or meaning. Just physics and random chance, and us, conscious beings thrust into existence without our consent, but now faced with a quite incredible opportunity. How to live a good life. 

Which is no easy question. But here we are. Us and all the other beasts of nature.