In a nutshell, this is what existential despair is all about.

Deep thoughts – but that’s not how life works. Life is really about getting up in the morning and getting on with things. Lots of boring things, some downright unpleasant things. Facing down fears and yearning for love, paying your rent and and brushing your teeth. Puddles of intensity and oceans of the mundane. Occasional happy things. If you are lucky, a fair amount of contentment.

As Sheryl Crow understands, it isn’t about having what you want, it is about wanting what you have.

If there is some overarching meaning to it all it is because you have an objective and you are on a journey to it. But an objective is just a moment in time. You get there and then what? Your life looses its meaning? Was the objective the only thing worth living for? Objectives are easily lost.

No. If there is any meaning to be found in life it is in the journey itself.

Life isn’t merely sailing from Britain to New York as quick as you can and hoping you don’t hit an iceberg. It’s about the things you meet and the people you do along the way. A life well lived isn’t just getting from here to there but rather taking the scenic route to check out various ports of call along the way. A life perfectly lived encounters an ice berg and makes Margaritas from it.