I believe that if we ever discover definitive proof of the divine, of a ‘God’ being or force or whatever, we’ll figure out that it’s kind of the living essence of the universe itself, either at the end of time or outside of time.  Not so much its conscience, but maybe its nascent consciousness.  I think it will be, or already is, the sum total of all reactions, interactions, and the experiences of all living things.  And I think that’s why what we do matters, profoundly.  Not because we’re in line for either some ultimate reward or punishment, but because we’re teaching this collective thing about itself and what it’s supposed to be.  I think everything that happens is the universe figuring itself out, and that when everything has played out, trillions of years into the future, it will know (maybe already knows, since every time happens simultaneously).  Or maybe it’s outside, and this entire universe is nothing more than the firing of a synapse, or a thought, or a dream on some extra-cosmic summer evening.  We know so little, but I do believe that things matter, not so much in terms of a grand design, but in that nothing that happens is without reason.  I think the universe remembers everything through causality.  And that means that every one of us is a participant in something grand and important and that is why we should strive toward goodness.  We are making everything, all the time, together.  And everything is remembering.