I have been told for years that I need to attend the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kan. As more of a jazz and classical musician, bluegrass hadn’t been a major interest of mine. Heading down to Walnut Valley wasn’t a priority.

This year, I decided to go ahead and do it. Why not? There’s got to be a reason people rave about it year after year.

Now I am the one raving about Winfield.

Never did I expect this festival to give me an entirely new perspective on what music is and what it means to people. I made discoveries about what I can do with my instrument, the music I make and where to go with it. Understand that music is my livelihood. It would be entirely accurate to say that the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival changed my life.

Yet, it was seven years before I actually took the week to go down – seven years. Where would I be now if I had gone earlier? Each August and September, the notion of going would creep into my mind, but I would always find a reason not to go. It took me seven years to decide that heck, sure, I’ll go down.

What kept me from trying it? There is no good reason.

Not a day goes by without thinking about something I should do. Undoubtedly, it would be in my best interest to do those things. It is entirely possible that taking a few minutes to just do it would reveal something about myself or the matter at hand.

The road trip with your friends you’ve been talking about for years; visiting relatives you haven’t seen since you were 12-years-old; that phone call to express how you really feel about him- the things that have always been pushed to the back of your mind. It is impossible to tell the emotional impact you will feel until it’s done. Just do it.