And then he kissed her...

He grabbed her hand and she swooned. He led her to the dance floor (actually it was a space right next to the table on which they were dining). The music was slow and melodic…for 10:30 am at an old hippy restaurant in Tesuque, New Mexico. He was looking dapper in a brown tweed wool jacket and a nice pair of slacks, Santa Claus white hair slicked back aligning to (in rhythm) to the era of old black and white movies. Charming.

My friend and I gave a thumbs up when he turned her and with her head on his shoulder as she looked our way. She smiled a loving smile, one that said, “I’m in the arms of my love.”

It wasn’t long before a woman with medium-length bleached blond hair came up to our table wearing the biggest most heartfelt smile with eyes dancing. I didn’t recognize her at first without her head on a tweed-covered shoulder but it was our ‘thumbs up’ table neighbor.

Without losing a beat she thanked us profusely for acknowledging their dance and proceeded to tell us that she has been “teaching” her husband to start saying Yes more often. My friend Jane immediately slapped her hand on the table, leaned in, and with a big smile of her own declared that I had introduced her to this new Yes process when I was working as her life coach.

Now we had a commiseration of stories going on with the three of us…then the four of us when her husband joined us with his very own big smile talking about how he is learning to say yes more often.

If you haven’t heard or read my blog or IG video about this Yes process, it’s about allowing for more adventure and acceptance into “what is” possible in our life.

The idea is that when someone asks you to do something, like bungee jumping instead of saying no (which most of us would probably do) you say Yes. And by doing so you are now leading yourself into having the beginning of a new adventure.

You see if you say Yes in particular circumstances it leaves you with a lot of new options like showing up at the jump site, telling your friend who invited you that you changed your mind but that you are there for them and whoever else was standing in wait with wide-eyed wonder and joy/fear in their eyes.

You get the opportunity to open to a new surrounding, connect with people you have never met before, become the cheerleader for someone who is on the fence about following through with this jump, exchange exciting energy for all, etc. 9 times out of 10 after your friend has taken their leap of faith you both get to walk away and talk about what just happened! Something new, fresh, different and possibly heart opening. In both cases you have had your life change in those defining moments with a new story to share with others.

Saying Yes allows a new flavor of being brave into your life and it touches you in a way that helps touch that lovely feeling of childlike wonder that we forget we carry. Saying No stops the flow of possibility. It’s like hitting a wall. No more discussion!!

One more example of what you can miss out on saying no. I was visiting friends back in LA and they wanted to go to their favorite private whiskey bar before dinner. Now I don’t drink hard liquor but am open to finding out why it’s private and experiencing something new. We asked a mutual friend to join us and he politely declined because he didn’t drink. I tried to encourage him to come for the company and his ‘No’ was so ingrained against the wall he wouldn’t budge.

The bar is dark wood, big, overstuffed leather furniture, upscale old-world feeling, lockers against the wall each one filled with individual private stash, light jazz playing, you get the picture. As my friends sipped their vintage whiskey and I said Yes to the bartender’s specialty drink we all started chatting with some other customers.

We found that one was a builder who was turning old apartment buildings in Portugal into modern cool hip hotels; another patron was an architect from another country on his way back home after having a meeting with builders in LA. And then there was a man enjoying a huge table food of his favorite food from the Indian restaurant across the street before his 24 hour trip back to South Africa.

Unexpected, super interesting and happy experience for all concerned…you just never know what awaits us when we say YES!

“Yes” gives you consent to stop and ponder the ‘what if’s’ where “no” can be quite emphatic. As I mentioned one must consider the circumstances like being asked to swing from the Eiffel Tower naked which may provoke an immediate NO…then again who knows who you would meet and see and experience just by saying Yes and showing up?!

In a world with a dark cloud enveloping all of us saying Yes helps to let the sunshine in and gives us permission to bravely forge our own tweed-covered shoulder to lean on for all to see.

To the brilliance of you unfolding,

P.S.

In Today's show Jude Luttrell, host of Imagine Something Better will be giving a short chat about Remembering to Keep Imaginging Your Dreams and when it is key to act on them!

Please note that since we are not LIVE today this video will be ready to view in the show's archive under Imagine Something Better after 2pm PST.

See you LIVE next Friday, November 25th!!

As always, thank you so much for tuning in. Leave comments below :)