“In our imagination, the meaning of life is too big or deep to ever be fathomed. Thousands of years of religion have led us to expect that it must involve something beyond this world, or at least some mystical, elusive secret. So when we are told that it’s basically about creating a life that is worth living, it’s almost impossible not to think: ‘Is that it? Surely there must be more to it than that?’ There isn’t, for reasons that can be explained in simple terms by people who are not octogenarian sages to people for whom lighting a scented candle is the closest they’ve come to transcendental meditation.”