WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE?

Were we born to die? Were we born to make heaven or go to hell? What makes life important, is it the MBAs or the PHDs? Were we born to die and be reincarnated into other species of animals? Were we born as punishment, serving a jail sentence to purify our souls?
I asked a friend this question and he said we were born to leave legacies. I laughed; it made no sense. Wait before you crucify me just hear me out. If indeed we were born to leave legacies, then how come we do not get to enjoy those legacies after death.
So many religions and beliefs on spirituality yet we can all agree that after death, this life matters no more. Worst case scenario, you do not believe that there is life after death. Perhaps you are an atheist who has refused to believe in the existence of God beyond him being a concept. According to you, after we die, we are truly no more, and we fade into limbo not remembering nor caring what we did on earth.
Let us consider the best-case scenario. If you are a Christian or a Muslim, you believe in the theory of heaven and hell. I am not here to debate the criteria for admittance into paradise so I will put every religion that believes in heaven a place where we go to stay after death, in this category. If you believe in paradise legacies would not count in your new life. Legacies on earth would only earn you points for admittance and maybe class (as believed by some religions) into heaven/paradise.
Even in the case of the existence of paradise, the type of legacy that counts is basically tied to good deeds done to God, yourself and others. The certificates do not matter nor do the marital status count. Being the MD of the world bank while on earth would be totally inconsequential in this case. Getting married at age 22 and birthing 5 children would add no extra points. Owning a Lamborghini and 25 Ferraris is totally not considered because God is not in need of your money.
A pastor once told me we were created to ‘serve ‘God. This made me laugh too and sure I just laughed while typing it. To serve God because he needed slaves? Or perhaps he needed people to constantly sweep and mop the earth? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I strongly believe that God created man for His pleasure and to show off his greatness. Beyond assumptions, these were stated in the Christian bible.
Dear atheist reader, please calm down and trust me. I will tie this reasoning soon to the logic. If indeed God created us for the above reasons, then he intended for man to be happy and just like him, be loved and love others.
Let us consider this realistically, journey with me for a few seconds. No matter how strong-headed a man is, he craves the arms of a woman whether his wife or his mother. On the darkest days who do we crave the most and on the happiest days who do we desire to share the happiness with the most? If you were vulnerable with me, you would agree that is with the ones we love.
It is therefore clear that the desire to love and be loved is beyond our survival needs it is our essence. It is who we are and why we were born. IT IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE. To love and be loved unconditionally is the truest form of living. Taking it even deeper, God created us to enjoy life in the simplest forms, a smile from a little child when you make funny faces to make him laugh, a warm hug from a friend, laughter from happy jokes, friends to love you truly, the wholeness you feel when you give to a friend. The list is endless.
Man was not created for life; life was created for man. A life truly lived is one where life was optimized, and every moment maximized. This is the reason I cry most for those who died without truly living or loving. Serve what you must serve but always remember a life of selflessness is what we were made for, selflessness to yourself and others.