**Optimistic nihilism**

Living as humans is terrifying and confusing. Millions of years ago, the owl awoke with its own consciousness and discovered this strange world—there were other beings, places to eat, and places to hunt us. There were also places to drink and resources to use. During the day, the sun warmed the owl with its golden glow, and at night, the sky was filled with beautiful light. The world clearly seemed designed for us. Something was watching over us, like coming home—our fears and confusion faded. But as we learned more about the world and ourselves, we realized the beautiful light wasn’t *for* the owl—it was just light. We also realized we weren’t the center of the universe. We weren’t. And we learned the universe was far older than we thought. We learned the universe was far older than we thought. Curiously, gathering dead things made them seem alive—we realized the same was true for us. We realized the same was true for us. In the vast span of billions of years, we’re just a fleeting moment. In the vast span of billions of years, we’re just a fleeting moment. We’re just an ordinary galaxy, one of many.