What is the meaning of life, anyway?

Some bloggers write really eloquently about how they feel about the world and their place in it. Others are more like magpies, plucking shiny objects from the Web and reposting them. I'm mostly the latter, but I aspire to be the former. That said, here's a particularly golden nugget from my favorite-ever agony uncle, Cary Tennis of Salon.com:

People often say things happen for a reason. I don't necessarily believe that. But I believe we must live life as if things happen for a reason. We must create meaning. Otherwise we're just sick, pathetic, clueless bastards!... What I mean is, we create meaning in our lives by responding with our highest selves. We try to do the right thing. To the degree we fail, we fail.

Amen, Cary. I can't stand organized religion, but I do seek to create meaning: in my food, in my life, in my writing.