I like to see meaning as a pointer by which we reference its substance, which could have previously been meaningless, or in this context without a previous mental pointer. Our minds have evolved with the unraveling of time to the point that these meanings help to structure and parameterize sequences of cause and effect. The mapping of meaning overall provides for a flow of consciousness, a dynamic that is defined by its own terms. Like you said, deriving meaning is relative, considering that every idea or group of ideas converges to a broader enveloping idea.