On a more spiritual note, we're all bus ticket collectors. PG is defining "matters" as "what can make money", which is fine for a business-focused essay, but i

On a more spiritual note, we're all bus ticket collectors. PG is defining "matters" as "what can make money", which is fine for a business-focused essay, but it does what we all attempt to do - convince ourselves that our domain has significance. The truth is, whether we're bus ticket collectors or Bill Gates, we're all headed to the grave. Bus tickets or billionaires, we're all getting burned up. Both science and religion hint at the same endgame, best to ponder if there's something beyond that which changes the "what matters" equation in the living short-term. Somewhat interesting PG cites both Newton and Pasteur in his essay - men who were obsessively pulled by their desire to understand their Creator and the infinitude of His magnificent creation: Pasteur: "Posterity will one day laugh at the foolishness of modern materialistic philosophers. The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. I pray while I am engaged at my work in the laboratory."