Old Habits Die Hard

My husband laughs at me whenever he finds a coffee cup of mine somewhere around the house (which is often – I love coffee; I’ve been drinking it for decades). Invariably I’ve left a swallow or two at the bottom of the cup. For years he’d chuckle to himself until he finally asked me why in the world did I leave a couple of swallows at the bottom of every coffee cup he’s come across.

The answer? In the days when I started drinking coffee my family used a percolator, which usually carried grounds into the cup. My parents always left coffee at the bottom of their cups to avoid drinking the grounds and I got into the habit too. Even these many decades later, and even though I don’t use a percolator, I still leave a swallow (or two) at the bottom of the cup. 

Old habits die hard.

It reminds me of the parable known in Psychology Today as The Pot Roast Principle. You may have heard the story before: One day a young girl noticed her mom cutting the ends off a roast before popping it into the oven. She asked her mom why she did that; her mom replied that she really didn’t know. Her mom had done it so she just did the same. So the girl asked her grandmother who said her mom had cut off the ends of a roast before popping it into the oven. So the girl went to her great-grandma and asked her why she cut off the ends of the roast before cooking it. Her great-grandma replied that when she was first married she didn’t have an oven big enough to accommodate a full size roast so before cooking it she cut off the ends to make sure it fit into the oven.

Aha!

The article in Psychology Today used The Pot Roast Principle as an example of what can happen if we don’t ask questions – many times we just make assumptions. Among the examples the author used included doing something without questioning “why” can be like employing superstition rather than rational thought. 

Interesting take, don’t you think?

I know in the Bible parables are often used to convey deeper spiritual truths – a message was simplified so it could be easily understood. For examples, the parable of The Good Samaritan is used to emphasize love and mercy and the parable of Friend at Midnight is used to show persistence in prayer (according to biblestudytools.com). 

A parable is defined as a short story that uses comparisons and analogies to convey a moral, ethical or religious lesson – sort of stories with a purpose. 

I don’t think my coffee cup reflects any message – but who knows? Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned in there.