So, I chopped off most of my hair. It's not exceedingly short, nor have I shaved my head again. (Yes, I used to have a mostly shaved head... I cut it to about an inch long once... listen to my radio show on Mango Radio and you would know that already.) I hacked off a good portion of it. I hate having long hair. It annoyed the bajeebus out of me. I have always prefered having short hair. One of the main problems with short hair is that you have to style it properly so you don't look like a twat. I think the hair style I have now is decent.

Very often I go through periods where I experience intense malaise. To get out of these funks I often do rather drastic things. I cut off all my hair, I get a new peircing... something. One time I shaved all of the hair off of my body. These days, it's getting ahrder to find ways to break myself out of the malaise. Days are starting to blend together and in my head, the monotony is what is really getting to me.

Hair is generally the easiest way to give yourself the illusion of change. A new style and bam... you're some how different. A new outside look helps to form a new inside outlook. I'm not saying it fixes all problems, but, it is theraputic. For some people, their hair is their temple. I'm not one of those people. To me, hair is symbolic of change and growth. As we grow older, our hair grows with us. It changes length, colour and thickness. When we want a 'change', many people's first instinct is to cut their hair. When we want to stop our growth, many people dye their hair to cover the grey.

Hair is a strange thing and I think many people don't really realize the symbolism behind it.

In Orthodoxed Jewish culture, women cover their hair. To be totally honest, I'm not even completely certain why they do this. I remember my Grammy Frida always wore a wig to cover hers. When I go to the store (I shop in a kosher Kroger because its the closest one to my house... kind of convenient and amusing) I see countless women with their hair bundled up and pressed into a hat or scarf. Few people can see their hair. For me, it is almost like it is a feeling of true bonding. You can only see her hair if you are close enough.

Perhaps it goes back to Samson and Delilah. His hair was the source of his power. She took that source from him. We see the hair myths often: women cleaning mens feet with their hair, Rapunzel letting down her hair, women cutting off their hair to get a magical knife from the sea witch... Hair somehow possess a power. Perhaps that power is all mental...but it is there.

Posted by Utopia at January 24, 2006 07:46 AM

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