If we’re so small in the universe, why should life have any meaning?

I heard this quote from Albert Camus: “The literal meaning of life is whatever you’re doing that prevents you from killing yourself.”

It stuck with me all day, so I started thinking about it. The universe is so insanely big, we’re here for a blink, and then we’re gone. Compared to that, nothing I do will ever matter on a cosmic scale. So why should life have any meaning?

But maybe that’s the point. Meaning doesn’t have to come from the universe, it can come from us. If I laugh, if I feel something when I listen to music, if someone smiles at me and it makes me warm inside that’s real. It doesn’t impress the stars, but it matters to me. And maybe there’s some freedom in that.

I don’t really have an answer. I just keep coming back to the thought that maybe life doesn’t need a grand meaning. Maybe it’s enough that we live, feel, and notice each other while we can.

What are your thoughts on this topic?