Nowadays I'm sure that the greater level of consciousness we have, the greater is the meaning of life. The lower the level of consciousness the more meaning will be found in 'small' things. The greater, the more it'll be perceived 'in the whole'. My purpose in life is becoming each day "Higher consciousness".
Think about a "raw" person and how he obtains pleasure which most of the time only offers a fraction of the whole thing:
He drinks a cup of coffee and can tell whether he likes it or not. Otherwise, it is just a bitter liquid with sugar.
On the other hand, the developed person smells it, tastes ir, perceives notes, acidity, astringency, smoothness, and if he hears the story of the brand, plantation, soil, harvesting form, he incorporates it all - and feels the sublime experience that a simple moment can contain.
The more connections we have with everything that relates to and surrounds us, the more harmony, more pleasure and understanding we get.
We can also observe it in romantic relationships:
Without affection or friendship (being just desire) most of the time it's grotesque. They don't find whole pleasure even in their intimate relations which most of the time is their only goal. It can be good only on one level (physical), but for developed people, intimate relations is also given on the subtle, the affective, the mental and the psychic levels.
It is when you look into her eyes and she looks into yours... and there is that complicity, that conversation "without having to say anything". For this it is necessary to have affection, respect, and true friendship for the person. And this makes the pleasure itself greater, because it extends to the other aspects of the 'being'.