[quote]The meaning of life? Everyone wishes to spread happiness, except for some people. I'm not sure what to even think of questioning the natural desire to spread happiness, even though I used to be like this, because if people naturally desired anger or sadness[/quote] They don't. Not fundamentally. Every single reason for anything you do ultimately comes down to your happiness. Sure, you may be a sadist and relish other people's pain. But if you act on that, it's still to make yourself happy. [quote]I'm learning here as I'm typing.[/quote] That's usually what I do. :P [quote]Religion is popular in humans because it provides a potential pathway to pure happiness. Some people that think about this end up getting serious with religion. If that becomes you, then it becomes a matter of finding answers. Will you go to religion to find this hidden potential? Or will you go to atheism assuming it's hindering social progress? That's what I ended up asking myself[/quote] Religion is popular because it attempts to impose order on a reality of disorder. There is no rhyme or reason to our existence, we simply are. Where does this come from? As potential prey in the wilderness, we had to understand patterns to survive - the actions of our predators and of the weather and so on. This ultimately extended to believing inanimate elements had consciousness, so we could try and anticipate what they would do. Thus were deities born. So yes, I believe taking the religious path will lead only to frustration. It's time to try and divorce our feelings from the pitfalls of life. Bad things happen. There's no stopping some, and no reason behind them. Any attempt to understand 'Why me?' will lead only to further frustration, a dead-end of questions.