How would you define human nature?

I'm curious as to what you believe is "Human Nature", what causes it and what the origins of the nature of human emotion. As an Atheist I believe in human nature; which means humans express themselves freely with and without the means of labels; love, hate, etc. To me reading about various religions I always run into dead ends which are ridden in contradictions. Everyone has their views in life and I do respect their beliefs. Just I see so many cracks in the theory of any type of God. I see being an Atheist is more logical; then being a follower of a religious deity. Ayn Rand said it best for me and I agree with her 100%

Ayn Rand Quotes

Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves – or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth.

I would like to see your views on human nature and simply life.

God gave us free will when he created us. Simply put we sin and we have to turn to Jesus as salvation. Since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

What is our nature? I take this word to mean, what are we at our core. I'll use the bible imagery becauseI think it's beautiful and simple.

God is Light.
The same light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
You are the light of the world.

We are an individual piece of Divine light that has sparked off the Source Creator Spirit. That is our nature.

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(As an aside to Christians, even though the above 3 lines are straight out of the bible, most theologies don't agree with the picture they paint. A Christian will believe that all men are born with a sinful nature which isn't what the above says. And you also co-opt the 'You are the light of the world' to apply to only the born again follower of Christianity. Jesus said that line in the Sermon on the Mount to a random gathering of people. He said it to everyone and it applies to everyone.)