During Oprah’s farewell show, I wondered how could she give up what she loves the most and recalled the Buddhist pearl “the greatest generosity is non-attachment.” We humans tend to cling and create crutches, whether a physical trait, friend, habit or a favorite sweater.
On the Mommas Pearls Radio Show, I often ask my guests to name their most beautiful feature. Depending on the day and how humid the weather, my answer for physical feature is my hair. Admittedly, my hair is a crutch. I’ve hid behind it for years and have an – if it doesn’t look and feel good I don’t feel/look good – relationship going with it. That and a “I’m too young for you to be so gray” thing going on.
Yet people lose their hair every day to cancer, disease and/or pregnancy. I’ve been growing my hair for the past year and thoroughly enjoyed my goddess locks stage. Now with spring, it’s time to lighten up and I cut 10+ inches off and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.
I’ve wanted to donate my hair for a long time but never really mustered the courage to do so. So it kept growing and growing and growing, way past my longest ever college length. Got to the point where it was too long.I was keenly aware that it grew past the goddess locks stage and went straight to strung out hippie stage.
What was I so attached to? It’s just hair – right? Mattress stuffing. It grows back.
So I cut my chord.
My hair signified a direct line of attachment to a core characteristic of how I perceived myself and weighted my self esteem. Oh vanity, you are a shallow biaaaatch. Now with my hair short and barely going into a pony tail, I am way out of my comfort zone. I clung to my hair like my grandfather clung to his one pair of glasses during the war. Ridiculous. Without it I can no longer hide.
What is it that you can detach from?
Hair today, gone tomorrow. Freedom comes in all forms, mine is short form.
Copyright © 2011 Cynthia Litman d/b/a Tigris Imprints. All Rights Reserved.
