I don't have a pretty metaphor for it, but I don't believe we have much meaning to our existence at all - at least not any meaning that is conceivable/available for our level of understanding. Ultimately, "meaning" is just a human construction that is useless in the grand scheme of things. What do you mean by "grabbing" the rose, by the way? Embracing human nature for its positive aspects versus the negative? Your romanticization is interesting, nonetheless. I doubt you'll find any answers in this thread or elsewhere, but I hope you enjoy contemplating it :D