Hello and welcome to the Gratitude Breakfast Club,
A quick morning meet-up to help you jump-start or maintain your gratitude practice.
We'll make it quick because we know you have things to do on this beautiful day.
Hello,
Beautiful ones.
I grew up in and internalized an era when almost all beauty regimens for black hair were designed,
As Pamela Farrell states,
To hide or correct its nappy condition.
Pamela Farrell is a natural hair care legend,
Entrepreneur,
Advocate,
And activist.
Like so many other beautiful brown girls,
I begged my mother for hot combs,
Jerry curls,
And relaxers so that I could,
I mistakenly believed,
Get just a little bit closer to the straight-haired,
Eurocentric ideal of American beauty.
I eyed the looser curls and straight hair of my friends and family with jealousy.
I sacrificed my hairline multiple times to the hope that this time the harsh chemicals wouldn't leave me partially bald.
My story is not unique.
Hair is a big deal.
It is considered,
Quite poetically,
Our crowning glory,
A statement,
A frame for the face we place on the world.
And for many,
Hair is more than aesthetics.
It is considered a connection to the spiritual world,
A reflection of our relationship with Mother Earth.
And even,
For women,
A reflection of a woman's fertility and femininity.
Given all of this,
How painful it is when our hair isn't abundant or doesn't meet the standards set out as beautiful by the culture we live in.
How damaging it is when we listen to external forces rather than the wisdom contained within our own bodies.
And what a relief it is when we embrace who we are physically and the messages our bodies have for us.
I've rocked multiple different styles of natural hair since the 1980s.
I've had teeny-weeny afros and twists and locks and braids,
And I've shaved my head bald.
I've learned to understand my hair and its texture and what does and doesn't work for me and for the health of my hair and scalp.
Health being the ultimate beauty.
I can now appreciate that my hair is delicate and fine in its beautiful nappiness.
I've learned that if I want shoulder-length hair or styles that emphasize fullness,
That I can do that with twists or locks.
I've learned that if I want a style that's sleek and that dramatically emphasizes my cheekbones,
It's not going to be with slicked-back hair,
But rather with cornrows or a buzz cut.
It's so empowering to know who I am in this way.
What about you?
However you identify in terms of gender,
Because this isn't just a woman's issue.
And whether your hair is straight or curly,
Thick or thin,
Dyed or natural in color,
What do you appreciate about your hair?
With love,
Appreciation,
And gratitude,
This is Karen.
