Say Yes.

Beautiful Denise and Wavy Gravy on the morning of Day 3.

Spontaneity has its benefits. I used to live by a "Yes" rule. In college, I had the word "yes" in all kinds of colors and hand drawn fonts on the living room wall. People walked in and asked all the time, "why do you have yesses all over your wall?"

For the years I lived in New York City, my rule (third, among one and two) was to always say "yes" to a social invitation or attractive opportunity if I wasn't already obligated elsewhere. This is how I got to go see Neil Finn live in a theater of only 600 or so hardcore fans when I didn't know who he was, how I danced with Columbians in Sydney when I couldn't dance, and ended up living in Italy when I didn't speak Italian.

The last few months I seem to have neglected the rule, choosing personal time (I covet my time alone, a rare occurrence) over social time.

But then I got an irresistable invitation for a three day be-in to celebrate the 60th birthday of a dear friend on her organic farm on the island of Kauai. I hesitated for a day or two. And then I said YES.

So a little more than a week later, I set my bare feet on this lush island, pitched a tent on the grass, and encountered astoundingly kind and beautiful people. It was a remarkable affair of music, community, food and connection. We ate, sang, jumped, hula-danced, tie-dyed, chanted, and swam in the ocean. I bonded with old friends, recent friends and new ones, and I have a collection of memories I'm still savoring. Gotta go back to saying yes again.