Albert Camus begins The Myth of Sisyphus with a rather dark assertion: "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy." In essence: you can wax intellectual about the meaning of life until you're sore in the throat, but what really matters is whether or not your train of thought leads you to conclude that your own life is worth living. (Along those lines, I would think that the second truly serious philosophical problem would be whether or not to have kids.)

I think people spend a lot of time thinking along these lines...most of us just aren't morbid enough to call it "suicide". That actions of most people, once they've started shedding their innocence, start to look for meaning or a purpose behind their own existence. Beyond basic survival, it's the motive that drives most human behavior in a civilized society.

True empathy is recognizing that this is what most of the people around you are doing. Compassion is the act of suspending judgment, giving them space, and getting out of their way while they're struggling to do it.