Quote Originally Posted by Cone
Does anyone else here ever worry about the meaningless of life? I mean, why should I ever worry about getting laid or socializing or any of that other stuff that you're "supposed" to do if none of it matters anyway? Why should I want to live comfortably, living out my life in complete oblivion to my finite existence? Shouldn't I be making my mark on the world? Shouldn't I be trying to move mountains instead of what kind of clothes I should wear? Why was I put here, in this time, in this part of the world? It seems like I have a huge purpose, so do I really?
I feel like that when I've got to do nothing but housework all day. Some days I just want to scream: "And mankind evolved from apes - for THIS?!!" But that might be because I'm an intuitive. I had exactly the same issues: Isn't it all just an illusion, making ourselves comfortable here while in reality we should strive to achieve something? And shouldn't we stop wasting our time with all that small stuff?

My take on your questions:

Everything's meaningless and arbitrary. That's the curse of this world. It's all in Cohelet - what he says is basically that "life is shit and then you die". And the most meaningless and arbitrary thing of all is human suffering. And life is so bloody short.

This being a fact - why not make the best of a bad job and really let it rip? In 70 years' time, who will care if I once dyed my hair green or not? Once you're in the nursing home, no one will give a shit if you had this job or that job before you retired or lost your marbles, or if you lived in this house or the other. So if it doesn't make a difference anyway, why not just live life to the full? (Anyone has their own way of doing it, the point is to go and do it instead of postponing it all until it's too late.)

In a strange kind of way, everything is simultaneously meaningless and meaningful. It's like looking through a coloured church window, and one time it's night and another time it's day. Sometimes the patterns begin to emerge. We can see them vaguely and indirectly, but they're there, and they're real. Ultimately, everything matters. Even the most boring and mundane tasks have meaning. A dinner you prepare can express friendliness, joie de vivre, exuberance, a love of adventure, comfort, tradition, a connection with the past or a curiousity about the world outside. Or take housework. A beautiful room is just that, a beautiful room, nothing more - and nothing less. It won't bring on world peace, but it can bring a sense of harmony, order, beauty and serenity in an otherwise chaotic and ugly world. And that's not to be sniffed at. Similarly, clothes matter as well. They're a means of communication; messages in a complicated code people employ all the time. And the best way to reliably make the world a better place for a handful of people (not for long, but for an hour or so): learn how to be a good cook.