"Dare"

"Jazz shouldn't have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that's required to sound like jazz. For me, the word 'jazz' means, 'I dare you.' The effort to break out of something is worth more than getting an A in syncopation. This music, it's dealing with the unexpected. No one really knows how to deal with the unexpected. How do you rehearse the unknown?"
                                                                                                                                                                  -Wayne Shorter

I dare you to step outside your comfort zone and try on something you've always liked, but maybe felt it wasn't "you." 

I dare you to find a good song in a genre of music you've said in the past that you've hated. Serve yourself up some good top 40, electronica, disco, dancehall, doom metal, smooth jazz, blues or country- whatever category you've previously steered away from.

I dare you to look a homeless man or woman in the eye when you cross paths, and offer up a smile normally reserved for a loved one. 

I dare you. I double dog dare you: to forgive yourself that one thing that wakes you up at night. To laugh off the burnt casserole, the coffee stained $200 cashmere sweater, the misplaced book, the forgotten anniversary, the sat upon designer sunglasses. 

I dare you to finish this day with the mind set that whatever happened during it, is OK by you. That you will survive. Thrive. And know it's good to be alive. 

I dare you to flirt with yourself. To fall passionately in love with your own crooked smile, profile, and personal style. 

Life comes without any dress rehearsals. It's all jazz, baby. 

You can sing it, in any key.  
So, go ahead, and dare.