Given that several billion-year-old particles combined to create the thing that you are, all of it arising due to some autocatalytic chemical system, as theadvancedapes has been telling us, you'd think the writers on this thread would be a little happier about the anniversary of their arrival.
I agree! Don't forget that you are a biological network of trillions of intricately designed cells that has enabled you to enjoy the universe and all of its wonder for another trip around our parent star! And don't forget that most biological systems on the planet now - and most that have ever lived - were only sustained for an infinitesimal fraction of the time that you will enjoy (and they weren't/aren't even cognizant of their own existence!). Most biological systems last for less than a year - they never get to see their first birthday. They never know that there such thing as a birthday. You will experience decades worth of birthdays and you are aware of it! It's fantastically rare and special! And you may live at the knee of a curve that will allow you to experience hundreds!
I agree, but as F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote "The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." Why that weird quote you ask? Well for me there is a duality to my life. I am the fortunate result of a billion years of physical and chemical interactions too complex to comprehend. My lineage traces all the way back to the primordial ooze and every individual on that lineage existed long enough to reproduce before being cast aside to the in-terminal void of unknowable history. The end result being me. Thats wonderful. But at some level we have to acknowledge (Or perhaps I'm on my own on this one) that sometimes life can be boring, sometimes it can drag along in mundane cycles; sometimes you have to consider the possibility that you exist merely as a delivery mechanism for your genes. That your hopes and dreams for life don't figure into any equation except your own. I'm not talking about momentary moods of despair, I'm talking about fundamental truths to your existence which are just as pertinent as the fact you are born from dying stars. "Seize the day, Carpe Diem!" people cry. Sometimes I think "Dont seize it, just leave it where it is, its fine over there"
Re quote by FSF: absolutely - and when I put the boredom, anger, or sadness in the march from ooze to human context, it's a little lighter - not much, but a little. Some of the sadness is biochemical anyway. "Dont seize it, just leave it where it is, it's fine over there"
reminds me of a quote: "I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later." - Mitch Hedberg
Of course, you have to make your own meaning. You are a vehicle for your eternal genes. That is a fact. But you are also thinking being that can comprehend the vastness of the cosmos or the concept of time. You can love and be loved. You can share your thoughts and memories with others. You are part of a phenomenon that may have never occurred before. That is also a fact. But whether you make the most of it is a personal choice.
You mention several things which are positive (comprehension, love/loved, experiences, sharing) and that making the most of them is personal choice. I agree with you there and I certainly do make the most of the things which bring me joy (family, friends, nature etc). I recently did some personality tests (thankfully I didn't fail :) as part of a set of tests my employer supplied. The results of these things I normally place on the shelf with horoscopes but this one genuinely surprised me. Along with some other things it said my approach to concepts was 'contextual'. Maybe its the confirmation bias talking but I think the result was pretty spot on. Its all about your context, its nice to look at the brightside but you need to glance at the dark bits every now and again to keep your perspective. They both make up the whole...
WELL SAID both lil and theadvancedapes! Life -what a privilege.