When I try to figure out what is worth living for and sacrificing for, I find it hard to put into words. The more the manifest sense of meaning is actually present, the less tempted I am to try.

But I can say with complete certainty that the three grand goals most within reach, the three most tempting answers to the question “Why?”, are false, however satisfactorily solid they feel in the hand of comprehension. These are goals founded on 1) magical speculation, 2) sound biological functioning (a.k.a. health or comfort), or 3) the acquisition of social/political/economic power.

When we offer these goals as justification for our actions we find approval and company in the world, and we find the goals achievable.