[colins_pride]

Almost all of life is arbitrary and meaningless. Denying this is not particularly enlightened, and ultimately tends to get rejected by the intellectually curious. On the other hand, seeing absolutely no meaning results in wasted time. The least bad answer seems to be leading a balanced life, with a few elements that are very important, from which meaning is created.

[stavrianos]

so, to summarize, Yes but there's no point getting all upset about it.

[zimbabwe]

Richard Dawkins has a quote along the lines of, "Why do we have to look at a beautiful planet and demand a reason behind its being here? Can't we appreciate it for what it is?"

So it is with life. Perhaps in the long run we'll all be dead and the universe will cave in, but in the meantime the things we do and say matter, and there is beauty in the world to appreciate. So I went to the boardwalk with my father and brother and we all had a terrific time, and having a good time was reason in itself to do it.

Once you give up the religious/gamers' view that everything you do has a score, you can appreciate things for what they are rather than for any ultimate result.