Rethinking Pets

Perry Farrell, the former lead singer of Jane's Addiction, wrote a song years ago entitled "Pets." I happened to hear it again on XM radio the other day. The song itself pokes fun at our seeming inability to manage our lives, as well as our knack for destroying ourselves and our world. Some of the lyrics are explicit (inappropriate lines have been omitted), but the key lines are shown below:

will there be another race to come along and take over for us?
maybe martians could do better than we've done
we'll make great pets!
my friend says we're like the dinosaurs only we are doing ourselves in much faster than they ever did
we'll make great pets!

I know the song was meant in jest, but it got me thinking...(which is sometimes a dangerous thing :) What are some characteristics of a pet? Do you think we would "make great pets?" It sounds like a strange question, but stay with it. It may reveal some important insights about what it means to be human.

Rethinking Challenges

As human beings, we are made up of body, mind, and spirit. Sometimes we devote our energy and time to building our minds, but neglect our bodies. Often, we exercise the body, but forget the mind and spirit. To be whole, we need to care for all three areas of our existence. O2 Max Fitness, an organization I support in Santa Monica, California, is doing some great things to encourage teens to take a more active role in their own health and fitness.

O2 Max Fitness will be sponsoring "O2 MAX PROM /SUMMER SHAPE-UP CHALLENGE: A 3-month fitness challenge designed to get teens looking and feeling great just in time for Prom and Summer season." Plus, you'll have the chance to win some terrific prizes for prom. And the best part is that you don't have to live in Santa Monica to enter - all you have to do is go to their Web site, enter "The Challenge," then download the workouts each week and blog about your progress on the O2 MAX site. You can find more information about The Challenge on their website at
www.O2MAXfitness.com.