I agree on the importance of exploration and introspection to find meaning. However, your interpretation of existence as a 'gift' is simply your own cognition,

I agree on the importance of exploration and introspection to find meaning. However, your interpretation of existence as a 'gift' is simply your own cognition, unrelated to the reality of experience. The tail is wagging the dog here. The duality of giving and receiving are just two linked concepts. If 'you' didn't create the universe, 'someone' must have! But then who made them? The buck has to stop somewhere, or maybe it doesn't exist.