I just start telling my joke about the talking dog who was for sale, and if I shut up, I’m not required to eat liver and onions. Plus, I’m tired of telling the joke, so win-win.
A guy finds an ad on Craigslist for a talking dog, $100, so he calls the owner and sets up an appointment, more out of curiosity than wanting a dog. When he arrives at the address, the dog owner meets him at the door and tells him the dog is in the living room watching tv. He finds the dog sitting on a lounge chair watching Wheel of Fortune. The dog looks over and says, "are you here about the ad? If so. I'll give you a brief rundown of my experience."
First, he says, I joined the Navy and later went through SEAL training, after which he said he spent a deployment in Iraq. He returned home on a medical discharge and used his G.I. Bill to become a seeing eye dog. Although it was easy and satisfying work, he felt he could do more. He served for a while as a search dog at airports for Homeland Security, and was now s able to leverage that into a stint with the Secret Service. He recently retired from his work protecting the President.
The guy was awestruck and decided the dog was worth millions, so he went back to the kitchen and gave the owner $100. He then asked the now former owner why he was selling the remarkable animal so cheaply.
"Did the dog tell you he went through SEAL training?" the former owner asked..
"Yes, he told me about his entire career," replied the buyer.
"There's the reason right there. The dog is a lying bastard and wasn't even close to being a SEAL. He actually joined the Marine Corps. I simply can't stand to live in the same house with that lying dog."
I am going to lovingly disagree on who needed to break which pattern, Donna. Why should little you have been forced to eat something she didn't like...and they knew it? I was a picky eater, too...or should I say I was born a woman of good taste and high standards. To this day, I have never had liver and onions, and can only tolerate chicken livers pureed into pate (can't do the French accents on this computer). Why have that battle of wills? I've never understood it I mean, we didn't have to eat anything my mother or grandmother didn't like. I lovingly agree on breaking patterns. Little you should've been able to have dessert and a dinner she desired, though. Pro-tip I learned from an elementary school friend when I was forced to eat (frozen) cauliflower or broccoli (or that gawd-awful "medley"): ketchup! xo
I wholeheartedly agree Sandra Ann, life would have been so much more pleasant without these kinds of battle of the wills that are ultimately quite silly and don't teach us much. Once I had a family I did not force the food thing and both by boys turned out to be very good cooks.
I am also with you on the frozen cauliflower and broccoli idea - not a fan!
I was this little girl! Not the liver and onions specifically, but I had/have many food aversions. And what a delightfully simply way to begin tackling those pesky habits that keep us trapped. I'm not always good at it, but I have Michael to help keep me accountable.
Liver and onions runs against my sensibilities too!
Your story worked wonderfully to explore this idea/practice Donna.
As for the idea/practice itself, this really spoke to me. I have been thinking a lot lately about my thought patterns and all the different times I just fall into autopilot. It’s such a hard thing to both notice in the moment and then try course correct. But it’s very nice when it happens :)
I am constantly amazed at how we have the ability to shift for the better, to be able to go outside and play, and fail to take the simple step to do so. It’s one of the reasons I like hanging out with someone who has a degree in philosophy and who can delve into the deeper aspects of life for me to demonstrate all sides of the equation.😜
Boy, that brought back memories. My parents also had a similar rule: my brother and I couldn't leave the table until we'd cleaned our plates. I had some pretty long evenings staring at cooked carrots or bread pudding that I could not eat.
It makes me wonder if it ‘taught us anything’? I know they came from wartime and could not waste, I get it, but if we could have made our own choices that might have helped (but then I would have only ever eaten dessert!). I think the lesson is in getting the hard stuff out of the way first.
This really struck a chord with me—especially the idea of how our own patterns, though familiar, can quietly work against us. It’s strange, isn’t it, how something that feels safe can slowly become a kind of trap? I think we all have a few well-worn paths we keep walking—not because they serve us, but simply because they’re known.
Reading your reflection reminded me of something small but revealing: for a long time, I used to start my mornings by immediately checking my phone. It felt automatic—harmless, even—but it always left me anxious and scattered for the rest of the day. Still, I clung to it like a reflex. Then, one morning, almost out of frustration more than wisdom, I decided to leave my phone on airplane mode until I’d had a slow breakfast and written a few lines in a journal. That tiny act, so contrary to my usual habit, softened the edge of my thoughts—and it caught a rigid pattern in the act itself.
You’re right: curiosity and flexibility are underrated virtues. They ask us to trust something beyond habit—and that’s both terrifying and freeing. I love the way you framed it; it feels like a gentle nudge to keep choosing the unfamiliar when the familiar starts to close in.
P.S. Truly, you have such a generous and luminous heart, my good friend. Thank you for highlighting my post—and, more importantly, for the conversations we’ve shared over these past few days. Talking about the layers behind this tough-but-healing piece was comforting in a way I didn’t know I needed.
Your comment about the phone in the morning made me think of this essay by Erin Shetron, it's about pattern disruption and she specifically talks about her phone but, more than that, she lays out the exact steps she did and we can all relate to them! It's wild how much more calm my whole system feels the more I stay off my phone.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such an important comment because our morning routine is such a key part to setting up how our day is going to unfold so I appreciate that reminder.
Our recent, and ongoing, conversation is a lovely tie that sparkles across the continent. We are so lucky💕
I'm going to try this exercise. Guessing the distract factor can guide ones path with a more positive openness. Butter, not I, but my husband. Butter, cream and cottage cheese. His mother hung the cream on the clothesline to curdle, said it, "scared him" as a young child." Won't touch it.
I'm pretty sure if my Grandma had found that cottage cheese recipe she would have done that too. Maybe she did and I'm forgetting because I don't touch cottage cheese either🤣which is too bad because it's a great thing to eat.
I think distraction (like a hand clap or something) is a simple way for us to get our own attention so we can be more intentional about our path. I'm going to try to do it more often too.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Birdy, I love it that you're here💕
I just start telling my joke about the talking dog who was for sale, and if I shut up, I’m not required to eat liver and onions. Plus, I’m tired of telling the joke, so win-win.
Ha! This is the best technique. But now we really want to hear the joke😊
I refuse any blame for the following.
A guy finds an ad on Craigslist for a talking dog, $100, so he calls the owner and sets up an appointment, more out of curiosity than wanting a dog. When he arrives at the address, the dog owner meets him at the door and tells him the dog is in the living room watching tv. He finds the dog sitting on a lounge chair watching Wheel of Fortune. The dog looks over and says, "are you here about the ad? If so. I'll give you a brief rundown of my experience."
First, he says, I joined the Navy and later went through SEAL training, after which he said he spent a deployment in Iraq. He returned home on a medical discharge and used his G.I. Bill to become a seeing eye dog. Although it was easy and satisfying work, he felt he could do more. He served for a while as a search dog at airports for Homeland Security, and was now s able to leverage that into a stint with the Secret Service. He recently retired from his work protecting the President.
The guy was awestruck and decided the dog was worth millions, so he went back to the kitchen and gave the owner $100. He then asked the now former owner why he was selling the remarkable animal so cheaply.
"Did the dog tell you he went through SEAL training?" the former owner asked..
"Yes, he told me about his entire career," replied the buyer.
"There's the reason right there. The dog is a lying bastard and wasn't even close to being a SEAL. He actually joined the Marine Corps. I simply can't stand to live in the same house with that lying dog."
I am going to lovingly disagree on who needed to break which pattern, Donna. Why should little you have been forced to eat something she didn't like...and they knew it? I was a picky eater, too...or should I say I was born a woman of good taste and high standards. To this day, I have never had liver and onions, and can only tolerate chicken livers pureed into pate (can't do the French accents on this computer). Why have that battle of wills? I've never understood it I mean, we didn't have to eat anything my mother or grandmother didn't like. I lovingly agree on breaking patterns. Little you should've been able to have dessert and a dinner she desired, though. Pro-tip I learned from an elementary school friend when I was forced to eat (frozen) cauliflower or broccoli (or that gawd-awful "medley"): ketchup! xo
I wholeheartedly agree Sandra Ann, life would have been so much more pleasant without these kinds of battle of the wills that are ultimately quite silly and don't teach us much. Once I had a family I did not force the food thing and both by boys turned out to be very good cooks.
I am also with you on the frozen cauliflower and broccoli idea - not a fan!
As always, thanks for being here my friend💕
I was this little girl! Not the liver and onions specifically, but I had/have many food aversions. And what a delightfully simply way to begin tackling those pesky habits that keep us trapped. I'm not always good at it, but I have Michael to help keep me accountable.
My made-up theory is that having food aversions as a kid makes us a better cook when we get older because we make sure it tastes good🤣
haha I don't know if that's true in my case, but it's an excellent theory.
Liver and onions runs against my sensibilities too!
Your story worked wonderfully to explore this idea/practice Donna.
As for the idea/practice itself, this really spoke to me. I have been thinking a lot lately about my thought patterns and all the different times I just fall into autopilot. It’s such a hard thing to both notice in the moment and then try course correct. But it’s very nice when it happens :)
I am constantly amazed at how we have the ability to shift for the better, to be able to go outside and play, and fail to take the simple step to do so. It’s one of the reasons I like hanging out with someone who has a degree in philosophy and who can delve into the deeper aspects of life for me to demonstrate all sides of the equation.😜
Aww thanks Donna! You’re the best! :)
Beautiful 🔆
Boy, that brought back memories. My parents also had a similar rule: my brother and I couldn't leave the table until we'd cleaned our plates. I had some pretty long evenings staring at cooked carrots or bread pudding that I could not eat.
It makes me wonder if it ‘taught us anything’? I know they came from wartime and could not waste, I get it, but if we could have made our own choices that might have helped (but then I would have only ever eaten dessert!). I think the lesson is in getting the hard stuff out of the way first.
I can see little Donna at that farm table, liver and onions cold and droopy and little arms crossed in stubborn defiance.
Wonderful reminder about disrupting patterns.
That visual pretty much sums it up!
I’m ready to use this pattern disruptor next time I spot a dumb old pattern. Which I’m sure I will if I pay attention!
They slide in to our lives like thieves, as you know!
This really struck a chord with me—especially the idea of how our own patterns, though familiar, can quietly work against us. It’s strange, isn’t it, how something that feels safe can slowly become a kind of trap? I think we all have a few well-worn paths we keep walking—not because they serve us, but simply because they’re known.
Reading your reflection reminded me of something small but revealing: for a long time, I used to start my mornings by immediately checking my phone. It felt automatic—harmless, even—but it always left me anxious and scattered for the rest of the day. Still, I clung to it like a reflex. Then, one morning, almost out of frustration more than wisdom, I decided to leave my phone on airplane mode until I’d had a slow breakfast and written a few lines in a journal. That tiny act, so contrary to my usual habit, softened the edge of my thoughts—and it caught a rigid pattern in the act itself.
You’re right: curiosity and flexibility are underrated virtues. They ask us to trust something beyond habit—and that’s both terrifying and freeing. I love the way you framed it; it feels like a gentle nudge to keep choosing the unfamiliar when the familiar starts to close in.
P.S. Truly, you have such a generous and luminous heart, my good friend. Thank you for highlighting my post—and, more importantly, for the conversations we’ve shared over these past few days. Talking about the layers behind this tough-but-healing piece was comforting in a way I didn’t know I needed.
Your comment about the phone in the morning made me think of this essay by Erin Shetron, it's about pattern disruption and she specifically talks about her phone but, more than that, she lays out the exact steps she did and we can all relate to them! It's wild how much more calm my whole system feels the more I stay off my phone.
https://substack.com/@erinshetron/p-166786187
Thank you for taking the time to leave such an important comment because our morning routine is such a key part to setting up how our day is going to unfold so I appreciate that reminder.
Our recent, and ongoing, conversation is a lovely tie that sparkles across the continent. We are so lucky💕
I'm going to try this exercise. Guessing the distract factor can guide ones path with a more positive openness. Butter, not I, but my husband. Butter, cream and cottage cheese. His mother hung the cream on the clothesline to curdle, said it, "scared him" as a young child." Won't touch it.
I'm pretty sure if my Grandma had found that cottage cheese recipe she would have done that too. Maybe she did and I'm forgetting because I don't touch cottage cheese either🤣which is too bad because it's a great thing to eat.
I think distraction (like a hand clap or something) is a simple way for us to get our own attention so we can be more intentional about our path. I'm going to try to do it more often too.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Birdy, I love it that you're here💕