I am on a black pepper kick! Despite several studies that show black pepper may be a fat-fighting agent, that is not the reason behind my new love of black pepper. To be perfectly honest, I have no clue why I am in love with black pepper at this point in time. Tonight I was eating a nice little plate of leftover roast beef, carrots and mashed potatoes and put my fork down - WAIT! I could shake some black pepper on this and it would be so much better. So, I did - and, it was. Why in the world am I writing about black pepper? It's because I used to hate black pepper. When I say "used to", I mean up until about a year ago. I put salt on everything, just like my father, but I wouldn't touch pepper. I didn't like how it tasted. I also didn't like how my mother would always try to convince me that it would make my food have more flavor. Not sure if it was my taste buds or my stubborn streak, but I totally convinced myself that black pepper was nasty.
Black pepper hasn't changed since I was a child; nor has it changed in the last year, but I have. I set aside something I believed to be true - "I don't like black pepper because it tastes nasty" - and made space for another view of it. As I was eating dinner tonight, I couldn't help but wonder how many other opinions I have formed that could use some reexamination. Let me list just a few that I am going to explore:
Nora Jones' music is distasteful
I don't like Jack Johnson's music either
Cameron Diaz cannot act
I never want to vacation in Mexico
I will never be any good at golf
Internal medicine docs are crabby by nature
Salmon tastes nasty - as a matter fact, walleye is the only edible fish
I don't relax well
I am a poor writer
I am not creative
Little kids don't like me
There is only one right way to make a bed
I am not good at networking
I only like colby and cheddar cheese
I could go on, but you probably get the point. I am curious about why I formed these opinions and what I might be missing because I believe certain things. I am happy that I decided to shake things up and put some black pepper in my diet. I am determined to check myself - PAUSE - when I find myself making a statement that comes from auto-pilot Jean. I think there are some things that I need to open myself up to. It doesn't cost me anything to give it a try.
How about you? What silly (or possibly not silly) opinions do you have, that you are ready to shake up?
