Those of you who are pet owners know that every animal has their favorite habits. They might be toys that last forever. Or for cats, it might be their catnip post.

This morning my dog stood up on the chair across the room and was barking at me about something. Usually, that means I left some plate out from a meal the night before. He smells the food but can’t reach the plate on the chairside table. Then he barks for me to come over. As if that’s my main goal in life. To give him dirty plates.

But this time it was his two favorite bones sitting on the table. I do not remember when I did that, but they probably wound up on the table because I’d stepped on them in bare feet. And that hurts.

So I handed him the two bones and he’s been gnawing away noisily for the last ten minutes. It’s a happy sound when you have a dog. You know they’re working off that doggy energy.

But it made me think, what habit do we humans have that compare to a dog and his bone?

Well, working out came to mind.

When we run or ride or swim, it’s much like chewing on a bone. We give it our full attention. It relieves stress and wicks off excess energy. It makes us want to take a nap afterward.

The only other thing in life that does all those things is sex. And hooray for that.

Like a dog chewing a bone, our running and riding and swimming may not solve the world’s problems, or directly contribute to our 401K plans. But it’s one of those things we do along the way that matter simply because we like it. It becomes part of us and our daily routine.

And when our own bones grow older and start to rattle and creak inside us, we can let that remind us that we’ve done a good job chewing off the fat of life to get to the marrow of who we really are.

Woof.