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41 " We'll learn more about how the brain operates, how matter works, and what fills up empty space. But even if we evolve into a smarter, wiser species in possession of a truckload of new scientific knowledge, we will still haveno access to ultimate answers. When a smart person finally admits that some mysteries can't be solved, she can relax and rejoice. When you honor what you know to be true, that nobody knows the ultimate answers, that thereis a difference between what is not yet known and what can't be known, that guesses don't really count, and that easy answers like sitting on a mat or walking in nature may soothe you but answer nothing, then you can leavemysticism behind. Then you are ready for the answer: that you are obliged to take charge of the project of your life. "
― Eric Maisel , Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative
42 " When you evolve a thinking creature, you evolve a creature that will think about all sorts of things, including its place in the universe (too low), its path (too hard), its accomplishments (too few), its hopes (too dashed), and its day (both too busy and too empty at the same time). It will think all sorts of things—including a bevy of unreasonable, reasonable thoughts. A thinking creature that is not provided with an off switch or with a simple cognitive regulator will just think on, turning itself into more of a brooding machine than a thinking machine "
43 " To put it aphoristically, no experience can feel meaningful to a nihilist—that is, to someone who has already decided that life is meaningless. "
44 " How you conceptualize meaning matters. If you hold that it is outside of yourself and must be tracked down, you have one idea of meaning. If, however, you conceive of it as I've been describing it—that it is a subjective experience, that it sometimes comes unbidden and that it can also be coaxed into existence, that when it is absent we must try to create it rather than search for it, and so on—then you are holding a very different idea of meaning. It should go without saying that what sort of idea you hold about meaning matters a great deal—in fact, it completely dictates how you will live your life. How you construe meaning dictates how you will live your life. The way you construe meaning affects everything, from how much pleasure you get from ordinary things to how sincere an effort you make in manifesting your values and your principles. I think that the idea of meaning that I'm promoting, by being true-to-life and by returning meaning to your hands, will help you live more intentionally, more richly, and more happily. Be that as it may, you get to form your idea of meaning—andwhatever you decide about meaning dictates how you will live. Remember that life is not set up to meet our meaning needs. It only sporadically provides us with the experience of meaning. "