“The cat calls the liver rotten when it can’t reach it.”
Merhabaan, greetings, and welcome back to another instalment of the world’s favourite analyst of Turkish wisdom: Harmon Thoughts of the Week. Brought to us by the Honourable Mrs. Harmon, this quote really opens a door into our surroundings and ourselves.
We must, of course, not dismiss the possibility of a food-begrudged cat attempting to alleviate its hunger with a nice slab of another animal’s liver. To all the liver-inclined cats out there: I feel for you.
However, the extended metaphor is pervasively prudent and scientifically proven. I believe most, if not all, of us can think back to a time when we wanted something, but we could not get it. Some of us may remember saying afterwards: ‘I didn’t really want it’, or ‘It stinks!’ (for lack of a befitting non-cuss word). In the instance of the liver and the cat, the mind can even make the cat think that the liver was undesirable, rotten.
We tend to blame outside factors for our shortcomings or even simple happenstance, so do cats, it seems.
From little kids blaming their toys to adults criticizing a team or community from which they were left out, we have all called the liver rotten. The tough part is recognising it; we can all learn a little from the cat.
Hopefully, this edition of Harmon Thoughts of the Week has opened your minds a bit. Don’t forget to return for more words of wonderfully whimsical wisdom!
