Bad Hair
Hey! Did you go out of the house with that hair?
Whoa.
No, of course you didn't. You checked in the mirror before you left the house, and you did one of three things:
You saw your hair was a mess, and fixed it.
You saw your hair was awesome and loved it.
You saw your hair was a mess, and decided to rock it.
All three of those options are totally bad ass. And you are making a choice.
So, I'd like to challenge you to look in the mirror today - and don't just look at your hair, but look into your eyes, the true representation of who you are.
Do you like what you see? You've got three options:
You don't like it, so you change it.
You love it, so you roll with it.
You're not thrilled, but you'll make the best of it.
The mirror is an awesome tool. But you have to use it properly. When we have a bad hair day, we don't often allow it to hurt our feelings. We just look, and say "Oh my!" and grab the hairspray and fix it. Totally cool.
But when we look into our own eyes and don't like what we see, we allow it to hurt our feelings and recoil from our reflection. Why? Just like our hair, if we don't like it, we can fix it. It is absolutely ok to look into the mirror and see something you don't like - because now you have the power to make some changes! You don't have be resigned to what you see; but in order to do something about it, you DO have to see it. Is it hard to see something that you don't like? Sometimes. But imagine how much harder it would be to look back on a lifetime of that, having done nothing about it.
Right now - this very moment in time, we all have the power to work on our hair. Sometimes, a simple wash will do the trick. Sometimes it takes a bit of product and hair drying. Some days you just have to put on a hat until you can deal with it later. And sometimes - sometimes you just need to shave it off and start over. (I've done it, it works! But that has a lot of awkward stages so you've really got to be committed!)
Don't shy away from your reflection. You must look at yourself to see what the world sees. Not because their definition of beauty matters, but because yours does. I am not speaking of physical beauty (though do check your hair while you're there) but true beauty. And I believe you will see true beauty in the following three ways:
Your Eyes
Your Voice
Your Smile
When you look into someone's eyes, you show them they are being listened to, they are valued. When you speak to someone, you let them hear whether your heart is soft and kind. When you smile at someone, you show them they are welcomed and accepted.
Those things make a person beautiful. And guess what? They have nothing to do with outward appearance, and everything to do with how you impact people around you. That is most radiant and life altering beauty I have ever come across. The most wonderous part - those three actions don't age and you are in complete control of them! They are who you are, and you choose you!
That makes me so happy! So my job is to look into the mirror, to make sure my smile is genuine, my eyes are full and my voice is gentle. (and to acknowledge what the current stage of my hair is)
And if any of that is catawampus*, - I shall get more coffee and try again.
*catawampus Adjective
Definition of catawampus (Entry 2 of 2)
1dialectal : FIERCE, SAVAGE, DESTRUCTIVE 2dialectal : ASKEW, AWRY, cater-cornered
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary