Some of you may have heard of the Kurzgesagt animation studio. They publish videos that try to rationalise life’s biggest questions and address science’s biggest gaps.
In 2017 they were challenged to explain the meaning of our existence. The message they produced was viewed 2 million times in two days.

Their words inspired the following passage, changes have been made, but credit of course goes to the wonderful Kurzgesagt for their brilliance:


“It’s possible. But also very unlikely that 200 trillion trillion stars were made for us.

In a sense it can feel like a joke has been played on us.

That we became self-aware, only to realise this story is not about us.

It’s possible that nothing matters. But equally it’s just as possible that everything matters.

As far as we can see, we only get one shot at life.

This could make death a little scary, but it also sets us free.

If the universe is to end as we believe it will, every humiliation we have ever suffered in our life will be forgotten.

Every mistake we made. will not matter in the end.
Every bad thing we ever did, will be voided.

If our life is all we get to experience, then it's the only thing that matters.

Humans will almost certainly cease to exist at some point,
but before we do, we get to explore ourselves and the world around us.
We get to experience feelings. We get to experience food, books, sunrises, and getting to know each other.
The fact that we're even able to contemplate these things is incredible.

It's easy to think of ourselves as separated from everything, but this is not true.
We are as much the universe as a neutron star
or a black hole or a nebula.
Even better, actually, we are its thinking and feeling part:
we could be called the centre organs of the universe.

It's not as if we've found out everything there is to know
We don't know why the rules of the universe are as they are,
We don’t know how life came into existence, or even what life is.
We have no real idea what consciousness is or if we are alone in the universe.

But we can try to find some answers.
There are billions of stars to visit, diseases to cure,
people to help, joy to be experienced.
There really is so much to do.

No matter how big the universe, or how long the timeline. Each one of us can still choose to feel, and act as if our life, and everyone else’s is precious.

Everything that happens will eventually we forgotten. But there is only ‘now’ and right now what we do truly, truly matters.”

Kurzgesagt 2017

Thanks for listening. Whatever happens in the week ahead, let’s consciously choose to stay kind, stay grateful, and remember that this is still the greatest ever time to be alive.