My whole life, I haven’t eaten guacamole. Unlike eggplant and tomatoes, foods I don’t like because I’ve tried them, the humble avocado hasn’t event warranted a taste. It was green, it was mushy, and I was most definitely not going to try it or anything that was made with it.
I’ve happily lived these thirty-some years without avocados or guacamole. I made sure if I ordered Mexican food, there was no guacamole. You’d be surprised (or maybe not) how easy it is to avoid avocados altogether.
Then, a few weeks ago, everything changed. There wasn’t anything special about the day, really. Nothing extraordinary had happened in the moments leading up to it. We were having a little get together with the snacks being a few items for review. One of those items was guacamole.
I stood at the table, tortilla chip in hand, guacamole in front of me. I looked at it. It looked at me (or I imagine it did.)
Maybe this time, this one time, I’ll give it a try.
If I’m being honest, I don’t remember when I tried it before.
What if I was wrong? What if my tastes have changed? That’s happened before.
At the very least, I can say I tried it and didn’t like it.
So there I stood, those thoughts running through my mind, and I went for it. I took a chance. I made that leap. I dared to eat guacamole.
I dipped the chip, I took a bite, and as the spicy yet creamy taste of the guacamole hit my taste buds, a feeling of complete shock started to hit me. All it once, it seemed like I was hit by three or four thoughts all at the same time.
Wow, this tastes good!
How is this possible?
Could it be I like guacamole?
What does this all mean?
All very good thoughts, and all leading towards the final thought, I like guacamole.
It’s a strange feeling when you realize that you’ve gone through life missing out on something totally amazing. I look back at all those times there was guacamole served with chips and think of all the awesome snacking I missed out on. Yet at the same time, I was a younger, different person then. Maybe I wasn’t mature enough to appreciate guacamole. Maybe I wasn’t ready to handle the awesome flavors. We’re constantly growing and changing in every way, perhaps I just needed time to grow into guacamole.
I wonder how many other things in my life are like guacamole. How many other things could I be missing out on because I grew up thinking a certain way but not knowing or understanding why I’m thinking that way? How many passions and joys have passed me by because I didn’t dare – didn’t even imagine – to challenge something I thought I knew.
This whole experience, or this simple experience, of tasting guacamole has changed me in more ways than just finding a new dip for chips. It’s challenged me to look at all things that I thought I knew and see whether or not they’re true. Just because I grew up thinking something doesn’t mean it’s true.
It’s OK to challenge the status quo.
It’s OK to think new things.
It’s OK to change.
It’s OK to dare to eat guacamole.
Do you dare?
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