For many people, the question "why am I alive?" lies at the core of their existence. It is what keeps them awake at night and gets them out of bed in the morning. It's what drives them to work hard, to create, and to live their lives in a meaningful way.
Some atheists believe that some sort of meaning can be intrinsic to life itself, so the existence or non-existence of a god is irrelevant to this question (a variation on Socrates' Euthyphro dilemma). Others believe that there is no underlying purpose to life, and that all that we do is a mere byproduct of insensate natural forces, and has no grand meaning or purpose.
Still other atheists argue that talking about a grand purpose is incoherent and incomplete, and that it is up to each individual person to choose for themselves what their own version of the meaning of life is. And for some, the answer to this question is so personal that it cannot be shared with anyone else – it's like a secret language that is unique to each person.
For Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, the answer to this question is found in the song Alive. The track, which was released as a single in 1991 from the band's debut album Ten, is semi-autobiographical and reflects Vedder's own experience of discovering that his stepfather wasn't his biological father. The song also explores the importance of relationships, and how they help to give a sense of meaning to one's life.