From Woody Allen’s movie ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’:
Cristina: Are you very religious? (They are gazing at a image of the crucified Jesus.)
Juan: No. No, I’m not. The trick is to enjoy life, accepting it has no meaning whatsoever.
Cristina: No meaning? You don’t even think that authentic love gives life meaning?
Juan: Yes, but love is so transient, isn’t it? I was in love with the most incredible woman… and in the end… she put a knife into me.
If one sees that life has no meaning whatsoever, that implies life is to be enjoyed, does that not make it life’s meaning? Then the question that comes in would be what constitutes true enjoyment, that leads to the most meaningful life. One will realise that the crux of what makes life enjoyable is not the material exactly, but how the mind perceives the material and itself. This is how worldly hedonistic thinking should inevitably evolve to spirituality.
Cristina was asking about authentic love while Juan remarked about worldly love, which is of course transient, which is exactly why authentic love is precious and meaningful. Together with the reason of wisdom, it is the emotive aspect of life that makes it worthwhile. In Buddhism, true love comprises of true loving-kindness, compassion, rejoice and equanimity. It is with this true love that the Buddha shared the true meaning of life. Only when love is not authentic, does it easily morph to be hatred with expectations unmet.