Kurt Vonnegut has died at 84.

Vonnegut wrote about the human condition, with a bleak but humorous and affectionate outlook on life. His opinions were blunt and harsh, but at the heart of them was an overarching compassion for people and all their foibles and pains. For a sampling, see his wikiquote page.

His statement on our purpose in the world:

We are here to help each other through this thing, whatever it is.

What a great way to direct us toward a purpose while at the same time admitting that we have no idea what the big picture is.

BTW: I like Jessica's Indexed cartoon So it goes. It expresses the sentiment of Vonnegut's fans in a very Vonnegut way.