To my mind, a cat's life. and specifically a house cat's life, is quite serene.

You walk around, find a good spot to nap, get some food, see the large ugly non-cats and decide to get some cuddles. Then, after you've had cuddles, you go find a nice spot for napping.

I do, however, believe that cat's love for humans is often underrated - people think they don't care, and I don't think that's true. I believe cats quite love their humans, they just show it differently. Like watching them when they poop. Cats are quite vulnerable pooping, so the large non-cat would logically also be vulnerable when pooping, so a good cat will stand guard, which is also why it will ask for the door to be open. Can't protect what you can't see!