Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was a summer camp counselor at a gymnastics camp and responsible for a cabin of 11 year old girls. These kids were on the camp owner’s gymnastics team during the school year so they all knew each other. They operated like a pack and they could swear up a storm. Every last one of them. Their favorite saying? “Fuck a duck.“ And after hearing “fuck a duck“ for weeks, guess what got stuck in my head? Guess what is still stuck in my head when something goes wrong?
I was reminded of this during my brief stint as a care worker in the memory care unit where my mom was living last year. Everyone who lives in memory care has issues, but some have more than others. Like this one 89-year-old little lady who followed no rules and did what she wanted. And if you had the audacity to suggest she direct her attention elsewhere, she told you, “Go fuck yourself.“
Why am I telling you this? If you ever find yourself with memory issues, you should know that one of the first things to disappear is your filter. Whatever is in your mind will come out of your mouth. It’s a habit. And teaching us new habits is a major theme of the Course. “Miracles are habits,” it says. (Miracle Principle 4) So if you, like me, have “fuck a duck“ or some other saying or word that springs to mind unbidden when something goes wrong, work on changing that habit now or this could be a future you. And if you don’t want it to be, pick up your Workbook, do the Lessons, do everything you can to rid your mind of hidden patterns and habits now…or you’ll be fucking ducks later.