So I'll be spending the next few days at home in Cleve-town (awesome). I'm reminded once again that my cats are probably the coolest animals on this planet.

You really have to hand it to animals, they know how to live. Everyone assumes that we humans are so spectacularly advanced, and that we've evolved to a biological pinnacle leaving the rest of Earth's creatures behind. But what if it was really the other way around? What if all the rest of the animals actually sit above us on some metaphysical plane?

My theroy is that God didn't endow us to an elevated status, I think he's taken something away from human beings to make our existence that much more challenging.

Sure we have all the evolutionary gifts: large brains, opposable thumbs, bipedal posture... but why is it that we get so devastated by natural disasters? Whenever earthquakes or tsunamis strike, there are very few animal casualties. It's obvious they have some innate ability to sense oncoming doom. Supposedly we evolved straight out of animalia, so why'd we lose this sixth sense?

I'll bet it's something in the smell. We really don't do much useful with our sense of smell anymore. Can you navigate your way through a forest in the dark? Or recognize when a foe has encroached upon your territory? I'll bet you don't even know what your own mother smells like.

The point is, with all of our naturally-selected wit and wisdom, we seem to have sacrificed a few staple abilities along the way. Where did they go? Seems like they could have aided in our overall survival, yet God up and snatched them away when he gave us this splendid gift of 'consciousness'.

Besides the obvious differences, animals approach their own lives in a dramatically non-human way. You'll never see a giraffe contemplating the meaning of life, or a shark wondering why it was created. Animals know exactly who they are and what they're here for. They know the purpose of their life on Earth and they do exactly that. They do it proudly, and unapologetically, never pausing to speculate on matters that aren't instinctual.

I believe animals must have some sort of direct line to God. They can feel his wavelength, and have his constant reassurance as they go about their daily lives. I'd go as far as to say they know the meaning of life. They know exactly what all of this was created for, and they see exactly how they fit into it. They live to fulfill that ultimate purpose, because they can see the beauty and truth involved. To do anything else just wouldn't make sense.

Meanwhile, us homo-spaiens aren't blessed with any of that. We can't tell if we're here, there, coming or going... and it drives us absolutely batty. Each morning we get up wondering whether our day will have a purpose. Each night we go to bed with a fear that we may not be doing things 'right'. We've created so many different faiths, philosophies, and religions in an attempt to explain it all, but where has any of it gotten us?

Nowhere.

We know nothing more about the universe than we did 3,000 years ago. Sure we've made some great discoveries in science, but those are really just observations of what happens in the world around us. We still don't know where we came from, why we're here, or how we're going to end.

Take a look outside. Do it right now! You won't see kangaroos building houses, or turtles driving cars. What are they busy doing instead? Eating, mating, and trying to survive until tomorrow. We should look to animals for inspiration when we really feel desperate with our world.

I'm sure us humans have some grand role in the realization of God's master plan. But since we still have no real clue what it is, I can't help but feel I'm being laughed at by every barking dog I see.