A View from the Potting Shed on Change

There are many things I’d like to change about myself and my habits — lose five pounds, stick to my writing plan, go forth in life with courage. But those things require hard and often unpleasant work.

Hopefully, the new stuff eventually becomes the old stuff and comes more naturally, but this can take weeks, months, even a lifetime of practice, practice, practice. Just think if I tried to teach my chickens to go into the coop during the day and come out at night? It goes against all their instincts for self preservation!

That’s what’s so hard about change. It goes against what comes much more naturally to us and usually means giving up instant gratification.

But there’s one change that comes pretty easy and where you see instantaneous results — a haircut!

Okay, not wholely new, but I felt different. Every time I passed a mirror or ran a hand across my neck, I knew something had changed. My friend Cheryle thought I looked taller and thinner. Way cool!

So although I know a haircut is not a core-deep, inspiring change — in fact, it only lasts for about 6-8 weeks and then you need to do it again — I do think it can be a good kick start.

I feel lighter and softer. Not soft in a bad, walk-all-over me way, but in a go with the flow, open and accepting way. Okay, Steve might argue with that because returning to work after a week off has made me cranky, but really, a weight was removed.

I picture that my spirit, alongside my curl, has been released and brought back. This makes me happy.

Speaking of curl, I have hair with multiple personalities. It wants to be straight towards the top of my head, while underneath and farther down, it wants to be curly. I have struggled for consistency, leaning towards wanting all of my hair to be curly.

It’s just not ever going to happen, and I am learning to accept this and see that this mix still works out okay.

This is such an excellent metaphor for a healthy view of life. Really, it is! This tendency to want consistency and order comes from wanting things to be predictable, which would certainly make life easier and less stressful. But perhaps also boring. Too much sameness. Too much perfection.

Quirks, uniqueness, a bit of something out of place makes life more interesting. These things catch your eye and somehow make you love the imperfection.

Like a flower that pops up in a crack in the cement, sometimes things that thrive in a less than ideal environment do so because of their strength and will to not just survive, but thrive.