I would say that I am not a picky eater.  It is true…. I definitely have “likes” and “dislikes” (albeit not too many dislikes).  Yet, when I find something I really enjoy, it becomes my “Go To” thing. My standard answer.  My comfort zone.

I have been eating the same breakfast now for nearly eight years.  I am not kidding.  Two eggs over medium, some variation of toast, English Muffin, bagel or biscuit, ham, and a big bowl of grits… plain grits.  I salt and pepper the whole deal… and I am as happy as a pig in the mud.

This is not to say that I am plenty happy to eat other things at breakfast… bacon, canadian bacon, sausage… you know.. your basic pig.  And really anything toasted will do.  I am a big fan of The Gluten Goblin.  Other things spark my interest too.  Black beans and salsa, have come in handy, plain oatmeal, eggs any old way.  Sauteed veggies.  It goes on.

But the best combination for my little head and palette, is the GHET.  Grits, Ham, Eggs, Toastish.

I’ve tried certain foods, time and again.  And I still don’t like them.  Calamari comes to mind.  Even at restaurants, where people are munching on “the best Calamari they’ve ever had in their entire lives”… it continues to taste like deep fried thick-weight-rubber-bands with cocktail sauce, to me.

Sweet potatoes used to be another.  I had always pushed them away because they looked like a supporting device for marshmallows.  But a few years back, I tried on a baked Sweety Po.  Plain, no butter, sugar, or otherwise.  And… Yum.  Now I love a sweet potato.

Finally, tonight’s story.  Tea.  I have tried every kind of tea, from iced to hot, and back again.  Lemon, Early Grey, Green Tea,  Black Tea, blah, blah, blah.  I even read the book Three Cups of Tea… which turned out to be a sham of a scam.

Yet tonight, I was in the shower.  Showering.  Not cleaning it or anything, just taking a nice hot shower.  And I had the notion… a hot cup of tea sounds good.

Well, I went down and fixed a cup.  Just hot tea.  No sugar, no lemon… nothing.  Just tea.  And I loved it.  Actually, I just took the last swallow.

Tell me now.  What the heck is THAT?  How does THAT happen?  Fifty years of not liking something, and suddenly…. like a brick hurled from the sky…. I was almost craving it.

I guess I learned a little lesson in all of this.  Being aware is important for me.  When I am aware, I may notice that which is around me.  I might notice something beautiful for the first time… or finally take notice of a new idea, or thought.  Perhaps I sense something changing within me.

Change may come to us when we least expect it.   A rearranging.  But.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be hard.  Sometimes, it is quite simple, and very comforting.  And good.

Like a cup of tea.

Crap.  I hope it was Decaf.

“Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” – Chuang Tzu

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.” – Chaim Potok