How does this stuff work?
I know, consult my local novelist/philosopher/physicist/psychologist and take a number. If humans can’t collectively come up with an answer, then what chance does a 34-year-old office monkey/weekend artiste have?
This is why sci-fi exists, to try and give our brains some form to wrap all the weirdness around, while providing a built-in caveat that of course it’s only a story. Religion does the same thing, only without the caveat.
I feel tempted to read some Joseph Campbell, given how influential his thoughts on myth vs. reality have been on society. George Lucas worshiped the man, and his sense of myth was definitely seared onto my youthful tabula rasa.
I need myths, that much is clear. I need things that give the world structure, even if I can’t throw myself whole hog into believing that they’re true. My brain can’t handle the chaos in its pure form for very long. Nature or nurture, who knows. Not a soul.