For me the reverse happened, back in 2009ish, lose the job then lose the girlfriend because you're not as spendy as before. I dodged a bullet on that one. In hindsight it was the best thing to happen to me. But while I was going through it, it was like the world was ending.<p>Now that I'm older and wiser, I've got my shit together, I don't see employment or love/girlfriends as a source of validation that you belong here and are appreciated.<p>When things get rough, I envision myself as a tiny bud on the tip of a branch on a tree. When life is created, it's not new, it's just a new branch and a new sprout, and when life ends, it's just the older buds making way for the new ones.<p>So love, and employment is a process by which the tree sustains itself. But the tree represents the entire DNA meta organism found on earth, from the bacteria, through the beetles, on up to us. Death and life are illusions, employment is simply a process, like photosynthesis, to expand the size of the tree. The reason I think this way:<p>1. Reproduction, having love, girlfriends, wives and kids is not necessary. The other branches of "you" will create plenty.<p>2. Having a good job, vs a sucky one, is in the grand scheme of things not all that important. You are one bud on a gigantic tree. You think if you can make the next huge thing, then you'll be more important. Not really, it's the cooperation between all the units that cause increases in the sentience of the whole.<p>The meaning of life is to expand the growth and prosperity of the tree (all dna based life), and eventually transcend biology and get off this rock so we can fill the universe with our proud waves. You either contribute a macroscopic amount to that goal, or take away from it. Look at yourself from the edge of our galaxy and tell me again how your situation warrants an emotional blog post.