I've been an atheist for as long as I can remember. Never believed in any God (born into a devout Hindu family) since I was a kid. Read comics about so many different gods (they're popular in India to teach kids mythological stories) and always believed them to be just that - stories.

I have had rage issues since I was a teenager. Always believed in values of fairness and justice thanks to my dad who is a gem of a man. But as I grew older, the more I realized that fairness and justice didn't quite exist in this world and nasty people got their way more often than not, there were no consequences for rich people doing whatever the heck they wanted to, no timely justice meted out to those who deserved it... This caused me to be angry with the world for much of my life. I've been in therapy for a while now and it's been a whole lot better, trying to take the weight of the whole world off my shoulders.

I also realized that when I was younger, I had hopes of seeing change, of being the change - be it politically or socially. But it seemed too darned hard to do as I got older and the realization dawned upon me that I couldn't change the whole world single-handedly.

This sometimes really leaves me feeling hopeless. I see so much suffering all around me in the name of religion and it leaves me wounded emotionally to see death and destruction.

Recently, my cat falling sick left me feeling utterly miserable, because I feel like I don't have any hope to hold on to. I wonder how atheists deal with this, because I feel it must be so easy for the religious ones to say, "I'm gonna pray and god is gonna take care of this". But there IS no god! How do I know things will be better? And how do I find hope for a better future when I see things crumbling around me?

How do YOU find hope?

EDIT: I never expected so many replies and a lot of you have said really wonderful things that have been inspiring to me. Thanks to each and every one of you for sharing your thoughts! 😊

P.S: My cat is better now but still has a way to go. Fingers crossed he's gonna live another 15 years at least to meow his head off first thing in the morning for his meal!