Yo-Yo Ma Performs Richard Feynman’s Ode to the Wonder of Life, Animated

But you do make a fascinating argument. It's an interesting philosophical point to be sure.

EDIT: Perhaps there is at least potential for resolution if we give up the classical definition of atoms (being the smallest indivisible parts) in favor of that of modern physics, in which not all atoms are created equal. But that opens up a whole other can of worms.

You can resolve your confusion if you consider that the universe itself is conscious in some form. And those atoms have some form of consciousness.

There is no scientific, objective, measurable, external evidence for this, so don’t bother looking to prove or disprove it. You have to find it yourself.

Wow, that's nearly the exact opposite of the way my brain interprets it — that he's seeing an infinitely rich tapestry, the wonder of emergent properties and consciousness throughout the universe, from the smallest scales to the grandest, and we, self-referentially seeing ourselves as a part of that grandeur.

Not that we're anonymous atoms in an unconscious universe, but that we're part of a universal consciousness, possibly the most key part, as we are the particular (perhaps particularly privileged) atoms that are now "standing… atoms with consciousness… matter with curiosity".

Seems it really is in the eye of the beholder, and often more of a reflection of our own state of mind than of the artist's intent.