As a devout agnostic, I have to say I agree. We don't know if it matters. We probably can't know. In the face of uncertainty, hope and love are the nicer parts of erring on the side of caution.

Besides, even if the universe is simply Red in Tooth and Claw and there is nothing else, then it is at the end, when we stand in the fire, that we show each other what grace we have; that we show our children a better way to be; that we look into the mirror and show ourselves that we are who we imagine ourselves to be.

"...will any of what we've experienced here have mattered?" It will matter to us, and that's what counts.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and here's to a hopeful New Year!