NATURAL HAIR: 2 Years Natural Hair Journey

Ask me and I'll easily tell you RETURNING NATURAL was one of THE best decisions I've ever made in life.  It's funny because I didn't intentionally plan it. I just wanted healthier hair. But an interesting thing happens when one educates themselves.  You learn. You process.  You re-evaluate.  You CHANGE. And in doing so my hair journey evolved into something more than just hair. It has cleansed my mind, renewed my vision, awoken my consciousness, washed away self-doubt, re prioritized my health, and refocused my purpose... because when you finally SEE and ACCEPT the BEAUTY of what the CREATOR has CRAFTED in its ORIGINAL CONTEXT you stop accepting the lies and half-truths from propaganda that's been clouding your judgement all along. And it makes you question and re-evaluate EVERYTHING you've ever been led to believe. 

Along my journey, I've heard so many females compliment me but in the same breath say 'I can't' 'I won't look right' 'I'd look a hot mess' or 'I don't have the right type of head shape, face or hair'... Now while I'm not one to judge a person for their preference I do find it unsettling that some women's preference is more an obligation than an OPTION. You enslave yourself with that type of small thinking. YOU define that which is beautiful, NOT the media (or anyone else for that matter). I can accept that everyone has their own path to take. I simply encourage you to be curious enough to take the first step.  I'm sure you'd be amazed at where your steps can take you. As for me, I know I was destined for this. I look back and am so appreciative of the ups and downs of my JOURNEY. It has helped me see and experience my world differently. So if nothing else here's my takeaway:  'Stop focusing on the other side of the fence because the grass will ALWAYS be GREENER where YOU water it.'

**steps off soapbox**

Submission originally posted March 21, 2014

LIFE: Society Needs Rehab

Capitalism has pimped our society on the mantra of ' GO GO GO, DO DO DO' but buying into this schematic has obliterated our ability to stop and think. See, thinking opposes the very thing we're all striving to beat in our quick-paced lifestyle, time. We're trying to become rich as fast as we possiblly can. To go as many places as we possibly can. To do and experience as many things as we possibly can. To acquire the notarity....the fame... the fortune...AS. FAST. AS. WE. POSSIBLY. CAN. We're running so fast trying to get where we're going that we're not even LOOKING at the finish line nor the direction we're headed. We're focused on the speed. Our society is so cracked out on obtaining  success that we completely negate the fact that no one, successful or not, is ever really satisfied. Once we reach a certain level it's never enough. We're constantly looking for something else.... something different, something bigger, something better, something  stronger to give us that next high. We're strung out and society NEEDS rehab.

We're treating life as if it's a game with a 'one size fits all' set of rules. He who follows and finishes first or the fastest wins, as stated in said rules. Life is not that linear and structured. It's fluid, forever changing  forms, changing speed, changing rhythms...it's forever evolving. That's the only real constant. Truth be told, if life is a game you first must realize everyone doesn't even start off in the same place. Just like, everyone's finish line isn't the same either. So why are we all following the same rules? WHAT ARE WE DOING?!? and more importantly, WHY ARE WE DOING IT?!?

[ THINKING REQUIRED HERE ]

See the problem with thinking is that it takes TIME, so toss out the clocks. Thinking requires FOCUSED attention, so stop the multi-tasking.  Thinking takes PATIENCE, so drop the urge to rush. Thinking is an art form, unto itself. Thinking is the REHAB that society needs.  

The only way to 'win' is to stop playing by pre-manufactured rules and create your own. When you become the creator you then become the manifestor of your reality and the conductor of your happiness. The pursuit to happiness becomes personal and the path becomes clearer. 

Times such as these I find the relevance of  that which seemed meaningless in gradeschool. Remember when you felt like everything you were being taught seemed trivial to living in the 'real world'.... yeah, time to re-think that too.  A lot of the answers  to things we're searching for were given to us at much to early an age for our young minds to even comprehend the gravity of the resource that was so easily dropped into our laps. Just thinking about BLOOM'S TAXONOMY alone is enough to realize that this principle is the very guide that can be used to writing your own rules. Evaluate, Synethsis, Analyze, Apply, Comprehend THEN Understand. When we take the time to do this we stop buying into the very things that have been fed to us. We see the benefits in being patient instead of impatient; we understand the appeal of taking our time instead of just taking time . You see that it's more nutritious for our lives to dine on homemade rather than fast food. We receive more of the benefits and less of the hazardous stuff. In essence, when you begin to REALLY think your priorities change. Your actions change.  Your world changes. YOU CHANGE. And I guarantee that when you do an unprecedented feeling of liberation will overtake you and satifisy you in all the ways you've been searching for. 

So... RE-THINK LIFE.