This is not a bad interpretation and is deeper than you might imagine in that awareness. As you are now aware, philosophy is a heavily biased human construct attempting to come to grips with the reality of existence and its meaning, and purpose, and consequences. Not only are all of those aspects highly subjective, they are deeply conjectural as a product of human thinking alone. That is the value of divine wisdom, that you can gain a greater awareness and a more lofty perspective about the true meanings and deeper implications of what you are a part of and where things might be heading.
In a sense, this simple statement is like the key to the riddle of life, it does not explain itself but it is a demonstration of an important reality—your ability to contemplate your existence. And the fact that you are a consciousness perceiving the physical realm you exist within, and understand yourself to be a discrete entity containing that conscious awareness and able to think about the implications of what it all means, are actually quite profound capabilities. This has been pondered through the ages, that human beings are on one level "matter contemplating itself." Many philosophers have pondered the riddle of how this can be as it is a clear demonstration that materialism becomes stretched to the breaking point to encompass the existence of this phenomenon. It is only because you are a part of the phenomenon itself that you can fully appreciate this, whereas no other species of organism can share such thoughts with you or have them unilaterally, and that is because you are indeed of a higher order of intelligence, and that is reflecting the essence of this riddle of existence.
What makes human special is not simply thought, but consciousness itself used in mounting thoughts and the experiencing of that level of awareness. You translate it into language simply because of cultural conditioning and training to think that way. It is actually a much more profound capability because it literally does not require words for understanding, and that, too, has many deeper ramifications. So this simple awareness and philosophical insight, "I think, therefore I am," is the key to appreciating that consciousness is the very heart of things, it is at once the most profound aspect of existence and the most profound force in existence, within the universe and without, taking into account there are many dimensions beyond the one you occupy as physical beings. So your lives and everything that happens are an exploration conducted by and for your consciousness to experience and acquire new information and experiences to add to your learning and growth in a grand unfolding that will indeed proceed through eternity. Everything else is transient, the material realm being a reflection of consciousness on one level that is energy constituted according to a desired pattern that will only persist for as long as that pattern is desired by consciousness somewhere to have it preserved, at which point it will be reshaped and reconstituted to become something else.
This is an important lesson as well in the understanding of eternity because the one consistent organizing principle and theme will be that you are along for the ride because the ride is a consequence of your existence to begin with. The presence of your consciousness will determine everything that happens, and what you make of it in response and in reaction will determine what happens next. You are part of a vast chorus of consciousness swirling about and cross-reacting and influencing the varied sources that are all contributing to the mix. That will make it exciting as well as rewarding, and creates a set of infinite possibilities because each source of consciousness has a unique set of characteristics and all are different from one another, so that variety and complexity and richness is built into the very fabric of existence and is there for you to discover, experience, and enjoy.
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