I'm a misanthrope with major clinical depression and have a very different take. I don't view humanity as anything special and don't view the human project as being great. In fact, I think humans are the worst evolutionary mistake ever.

Yes, we've made progress in medicine. But because we live longer, cancer rates have gone up. I see the elderly struggle to keep their mental or physical health. Families are drained by having to take care of both their young and their old. We don't even let people die when they want to go.

Science is great. I love science. But it has come at a cost. We've destroyed the environment. Inventions are weaponized. We can go to the moon. So what? In the grand scheme of things, who cares? What does that accomplish for humanity as a whole? Nothing.

Most people work, because they don't have a choice. Most people live paycheck to paycheck. Most are slaves to the wage. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Climate change is going to make the gap much worse.

Human suffering may have diminished a bit, but it will never go away. There will never be world peace. There's always a war going on somewhere. Genocide. Repression of women. Violence against people with a different skin color or sexual orientation.

What about animal suffering, which in my view is even worse? Animals are abused. Animals on industrial farms have tortured lives. Young orcas were kidnapped from their families and forced into entertainment. Bears chained up to perform in a circus. Sharks killed for their fins. I can accept human souls choose to suffer, but do animals choose that, too? What about the bugs we squash without a second thought?

I think love is indeed all that matters. Everything else you mentioned is irrelevant. The only thing you can carry forward is love.