Our Great Human Ego

As human beings many of us hold the belief that we are the pinnacle of life. If life is a food chain, humans are on the top. If life is an evolutionary pinnacle, humans are the final mutation. If life is created, it was provided for us. I have often wondered why we get such a superior feeling as compared to other life on this planet. Human beings cannot exist without all other life, so to me, it is almost common sense that we are all equally important in the design of this planet.

Why is it that people think that they are superior to animals? Could it be that we appear to have superior intelligence? I am not certain that we are the most intelligent creatures. I think we measure intelligence in a very specific way, and in the standard of intelligence we set up, perhaps we are. But if we create the rules, it is easiest to think we are best, because we set the rules. Perhaps it may be that other creatures just refuse to cooperate with our idea of intelligence. Either way, I would put forth the opposite idea. What if animals are smarter than us? I could take it one step further, and say plants, or even a step further and say rocks. Why do people feel they are superior to rocks? This may sound silly, but I can put together an argument that to me, can be a logical reasoning why rocks are vastly superior to human beings. If you will suspend judgment, I would like to share this experiment with you.

We do not know how long rocks live. To our common understanding rocks aren't even alive, so therefore they appear to be immortal. You may think that rocks are not conscious beings, yet when you hit a rock it responds with a sound. Could this not be some form of consciousness? Perhaps rocks are conscious on a level that humans are not even capable of understanding. Rocks do not need to eat. They do not work. They spend all day basking in the sunlight. If they are conscious, I would imagine they spend all of their time enjoying life. They have nothing to do, no place to be, and all the time to enjoy it. You may say that they can't walk and must be bored because they are tied to one place, but think of all the people who skip rocks along the river, you throw rocks and send them flying through the air. I imagine this would be quiet a thrill. Now you may say well rocks cannot create, and look at all that we humans can create. Look at the possibilities that the human mind can put into action. But a rock doesn't need those things. A rock does not need symbols or words or culture or great works to understand life. It just does. Rocks don't need possessions, television, art or even sex to be happy. And if you are still unsatisfied with this idea, think about where human beings came from. If you subscribe in any way to an evolutionary existence think about where all life comes from. All animals, all people, evolve from minerals. From rocks. So still if you have any reservation, and aren't swayed by my hypothesis, then it is conceivable to think that in each rock there is potential for human life. So out of this lifeless mineral, grows the very creatures we revere so much. Again, this is just an idea. I'm not sure how much truth there is in it, but to me I find just as much support for this one as the idea that humans are superior. If nothing else, I think even the possibility is a great opportunity for humbling our great human ego.