Painted Hair, Painted Thoughts

I rarely get my hair done.

I always feel slightly bad when I see my stylist, her fabulous handi-work undone in the 6 months since she last saw me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the TLC, but being a Mom, it’s hard to find 2 free hours to do the laundry let alone get my hair done. (And let’s be honest, this is not my hubby’s hair. I wish my hair cost $25 a session.)

But today was D-Day. Or should I say, H-Day. And as I had those two hours to myself, the laundry, messy house, garage sale pile eating my kitchen, thoughts about potty training, or, worries of sending my babe off to his first day of college in diapers, and the plethora of other responsible adult thoughts melted away and I was left with these random, but provoking thoughts;

1.     I have a lot of really talented friends. I’m actually amazed at the raw talent and passion that permeates from the very breath of my friends and family. While I’ll never call myself a musician or a math-genius, I have people in my life who perfectly exemplify genius in both of these avenues. I know makeup artists and photographers, teachers and insurance brokers, artists and lawyers, entrepreneurs and missionaries.

And I’m so deeply proud of each one of them.

This collective creative force drives me to be better at what I do. Even when, in the moment, what I do doesn’t seem like much. We each have SOMETHING that makes our hearts beat. And it’s in that beating, that drives your inner circle forward. You are so important. You are a part of collective WHOLE.

2.    Your worth is not found in comparison to these same friends and family. Just because one of them knows rock-stars and billionaires doesn’t make what you do any less significant. I struggled for years playing the comparison game, (I’ll be honest, I still struggle with it at times) but the truth is, no one wins in this game. We were each made so differently, each with different giftings, each with different bodies, each with different preferences. Not one of them is better than the other.

3.    People really miss out on not being able to attend their own funerals. Wait! Hear me out. I’ve attended quite a number of funeral services in my life and I’ve never been to one that had bad things to say about the one who has passed on. Believe me. I’ve been to services where I was honestly surprised by the things people said about the deceased. But then I realized something, just because I witnessed some pretty terrible things in their lives, didn’t mean that defined them for everyone. They were still someone’s best friend, confidante, spouse and role model.

Wouldn’t you kind of like to know these good things before you die?

Unfortunately, we live in an age where the mistakes we make tend to be the things that follow us around rather than the good things we’ve done. We spend the majority of our lives never knowing how much we mean to the people in our circles. And what’s worse, we spend so much of our lives THINKING about the good things in our friends and family members but either never voice them OR we take those things and compare them with our own attributes… which ends up creating bitterness and resentment.

How sad.

At a funeral I attended recently, one of the ladies who got up and shared, mentioned that as her friend’s health rapidly declined she decided that rather than save and share what she felt about him at his funeral, she would write it all out and read it to him before he passed. She had such amazing things to say. But you know what was even more amazing? That he got to hear that all before he died. How beautiful.

So, out of my hair salon thoughts, I challenge each one of you to do something this week:

Tell someone you care about how deeply you feel for them. Not just an “I appreciate you” (although, that goes along way too) but a heart felt, “You mean so much to me, and this is why…”

Imagine what this world would be like if we voiced our admirations and love. 

Comparisons would soon disintegrate into oblivion, depression would be lifted and lightened, and our hearts would be full of how very valued and of worth we are. Not because of what we do, but because of who we are in someone’s life.

Tell me how it goes.

 

 

P.S. One of said talented individuals in my life is my fabulous stylist, Michelle,at Prep Hair. SHE’S FABULOUS!