Over 30 years ago I was walking in Ala Moana Park and a distant drum beat called to me. I discovered under one of the biggest banyan trees a group of unusual characters playing hand and stick drums, being led by an eccentric creative older fellow. Right there he handed me a drum and shouted “play.” Something happened to me that day. The drum humbled me and led me on an adventure in rhythm and BALANCE and new mind/body connections. It wasn’t easy to let go, relax and just let the drum lead me. I wanted to think and control, and I had to learn over time to surrender to the beat. It was like learning to surrender to the beat of my own heart, rather than always working so hard to control it. The right and left hemispheres of our brain compete for dominance and we often struggle to find balance in our lives. Drumming filled something in me that I didn’t even realize I needed. Thinking back I see how much I needed to learn to think less, relax more and balance my left brain dominance and right handedness, and probably release a little frustration as well! At the time, though, I just wanted to hit a drum because it was fun. That choice to explore the beat under the banyan tree led me into playing drums in four African drum bands and a funk/soul band! Please come Sunday explore it for yourself at the end of our gathering! If you have a drum or percussive instrument or a few, bring them and play or you can just listen depending on how you feel that day.