On a meaningful conversation.

[talkstowolves]

Content edited for clarity and spelling errors. Identities withheld due to absence of permission.

Me: I've come to realize that I don't matter by myself.
Me: What I do in my life may echo in eternity, but only the eternity of sentient memory. I need other people to affect meaning.
He: You do matter. Whether you try to or not, your existence in and of it self affects the world and others around you.
He: And you are working towards "meaning", but that changes as soon as it is recorded by those around you.
He: As it is affected by their own thoughts, mores, and values.
He: If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, did it mean to fall, or does its fall have meaning, or none of the above?
Me: Philosophical.
Me: I am as much defined by other peoples' consciousness as by my own.
Me: Interacting with other people is really what gives me meaning. To a degree. If I were a hermit and living in the woods, my interactions with animals would give me meaning.
Me: I just saw the flaw in my own argument. I'm looking at it the wrong way. I don't have to have meaning in a void.
He: Correct, but their definition only has incidental bearing upon you. Your own consciousness defines you more because it is how you define those you see around you.
Me: And thus my actions which affects other people's views which affects me, et cetera ad nauseam...
He: But it's all hearsay. No matter how close you get or how well you know someone you can never fully get inside their head and views. It's all relative.
Me: Ah, the peace and burden of separate hearts.