self...

10 years. 10 inches.

... of hair that is.

my sister and I recently donated our hair to Locks of Love, a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

my sister's decision came quickly -- most likely because she is a very giving and spontaneous person. Mine crept up like a cold. Small and subtle in the beginning and then full blown "get this hair off me".

by the time i arrived at the salon my sister's hair transformation was in full swing. all i could think was ... "you are next". i got all flushed on my chest and my face felt like it was on fire. i think i was sweating. the hair dresser pulled my long hair back into a braid, pulled it away from my nape and began to cut.. well, hack really. she realized that her shears were no match for my massive mane so she called one of the other girls over and said "bring the big shears with you!". gulp.
finally i felt the braid break free from my skull.

relief.

and closure for so many things, so many memories culminated within that 10 inches i carried for at least a decade. and although i feel a bit selfish for believing my own personal relief was the motivation for my hair disconnection -- it made me smile to think that maybe that hair will go on to love someone else as i loved it.
it was hard to see it go. i loved that long hair... and the memories it held.

but now, onto new things, new hair, new memories..

Life Lecture

Last weekend was fortunate to attend a Life Lecture given by Sri Ashwini Prajnaa, an Indian spiritual scholar.



After about an hour of Pranayama (yoga breathing), a few Indian pastries and a cup of green tea, I settled in for a lecture of ideas.

He preached but was not preachy.

Maybe it was the Pranayama done in such a way as I have never experience, maybe it was the 30+ people in the small studio which was warm, maybe it was the green tea.. or maybe it was just listening to a person simply talk about his life; something ignited within.

He spoke of treating the body as a vehicle towards enlightenment. Just as any vehicle needs, our bodies too need maintenance and fuels to travel. And with proper consumption of all of these things one can reach true salvation.
Along with Progress we must face and accept Stress. Progress. Stress. Stress. Progress. The task is to find, live and balance between the two.
The closing portion of the lecture was an acknowledgement of the healing power of something we may take for granted... laughter. Yes, laughter. We spent the remainder of the class laughing. I love the photo above because it embodies just that spirit. The spirit of Sri Ashwini Prajnaa laughter, teaching and love.

begin

I have contemplated my blog existence for sometime now. . I wonder the worth of my thoughts.. Until I was recently told by a friend that my blog would emphatically be "very interesting!"
Thus becomes the birth of MY blog..