I doubt if my wife’s British Grandmother has missed having at least one cup of tea any day since she was a young child. Lots of people have never developed a taste for it. My mother and I have always been tea drinkers, but not my Dad.

A couple of years ago, his doctor recommended that my Dad start drinking green tea. He considered it an important ingredient for overall good health. So, every morning my Mom prepares a mug of green tea for him. Since he dosen’t even like regular tea, he thought green tea was awful the first time he drank it. Over time, my Dad has transitioned from hating it, to disliking it, to tolerating it. Now, he admits to kind of enjoying a hot cup of green tea on a cold morning. He would never have acquired a taste for it if Mom hadn’t insisted.

There are a lot of things in life that are good for us that we don’t really have a taste for. We can acquire a taste for almost anything. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to do things we don’t like – – – – just because it’s good for us. I suppose we can similarly learn to give up something that isn’t good for us. Whether we “go for” something new or “give up” something old depends on how important it is to us.