A bit long, I know. I couldn't help myself...

I see life as just, but not only, a natural process. The concepts of identity and self-reflection, however, make things a lot more complicated. They are what allow us to contemplate such questions in the first place. It seems odd that we are the only creatures on the planet to have gained these characteristics.

I think the search for meaning and understanding of existence is the search for understanding of the self. I have a lot of theories pertaining to the "whys" and "hows," but unless I decide to accept one of these as truth there will always be uncertainty, and as I am pretty sure that I will never, while on Earth, if ever, acquire any such certainty, I say don't waste time trying to know the unknowable.

Also, I refuse to merely accept some concept simply as a means of placating my fears, which (and I don't mean the majority) I believe is the reason that some cling to established religions: for simplicity, comfort, and community.

Speaking solely of the natural world, I think life is just a sort of "genetic program." We are subject to our drives and instincts: to survive, to consume, to procreate. Of course, as "reasoning beings" these things take on more complex roles, but they still dictate much of our behavior. I do believe that each of us is a product of both "nature and nurture" not one or the other. To say that environment plays no part in the development of our personalities seems ridiculous to me.

As to the "mysterious" side of life, I see it as just a curiosity, one that I find infintitely fascinating and that I spend a great deal of time contemplating, but that will never, for me, come to a concrete resolution.

I am on the fence concerning the question of afterlife. If life is simply a natural process, then it would make since to believe that once I am dead my functioning, and, therefore, my self will be no more. On the other hand, something inside me (very scientific language, I know) tells me that there is more to exsitence than just the physical, and I give that part of me some credit. If there is indeed some sort of afterlife though, I wouldn't be surprised to find that it is beyond anything that anyone has ever dreamed...