Atheists: How do you handle the meaninglessness of life?

Question:

Atheists: How do you handle the meaninglessness of life?

I find myself in a quandary because I find life to be meaningless. I love existentialist thought, and I appreciate and even endorse the view that the only meaning in life is that which you create. At the same time, I am constantly confronting myself with the fact that I am merely the collection of neurons firing in the brain and that the self is an illusion. I have come to the conclusion that life is a series of distractions, and the only way to be happy in life is just to distract yourself as much as possible from these harsh realities. But is distracting yourself enough? I distract myself with goals, ambitions, dreams, social networks, work, entertainment, and yet I always come back to this disturbing notion that every moment is an illusion, every choice predetermined, and every path a dead-end. How do you handle this?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Life to me is just setting big and small goals for yourself to accomplish, become the person you desire to be, attain the wealth you set out to get, to make social connections with people and to help out the people you cherish in life when they need it! This philosophy on life obviously does't fit everyone, but it suits me! The only illusions are the ones you create for yourself. Your life is what you make it, if you make it to be an illusion, then it will be just that. I don't see life as a bunch of distractions, rather something that occupies your time in a way that benefits yourself, and others if you like, not a distraction. Maybe their is an aspiration that is not being fulfilled in your life, maybe one that you haven't figured out yet, and that's why you feel as you do. Only time will tell, along with some reflection on what it is you want out of life! There is no perfect or right answer for a question like this, just find the one that works for you.