Cutting Strands from a Light

Cutting Strands from a Light

Hold on…

Let go…

Move forward…

Do I need these long strands for my light to shine as intended?

Inspired one day after getting off the phone with my mom I wrote a poem titled Lost Hair Tie. As I was talking with her on the phone, I was freaking out over finding my hair tie to go workout. As I felt my blood pressure build I rummaged through the car (under the front sent, the back seat, the console, the glove compartment), my mom tried to get my attention. Finally, I got quiet and listened to her trying to calm me down. I noticed, I took a deep breath and there the hair tie magically appeared on the gearshift.

Sometimes we can feel the weight of our hair, wrapping itself around us taking our breath away – we gasp for air…and realize we need a hair tie. I wrote this poem that day after my mom and I started to laugh about my reaction to finding a hair tie.


Lost Hair Tie
In the midst of the chaos, little things are lost
I pull out the comb that runs through my strands
Slowly working my way through the entanglement
Ouch, sometimes it hurts and other times it is smooth
Days when I want to throw it all up and not worry
Not having anything weighing down on my shoulders
Because the time it takes to swoop the weight away
It only returns to feel extremely heavy
And when I need relief from the strands
Wouldn't it figure, I lose my hair tie


I thought this week about how I can sometimes hold onto things and struggle with letting things go. I have to decide when I need the hair tie to pull up the weight and when I need to take a bigger step and cut the strands off completely to start a new.

Last fall I decided to cut eight inches of my hair off. I had been growing my hair out for over seven years. I really had an attachment to the long locks. One day in late September, I walked in to see my hair stylist and said I think it is time…to let it go…cut these strands from my light.

During the first snip, I am sure I gasped. I had some moments of sadness, I missed my long ponytail and how my hair looked when I threw it up in a baseball cap. People close to me told me they liked the new look and many shared their love for long hair and couldn’t believe I chose to cut it off.

First, we need to be bold, we have to decide when to hold on and when to let go. Being self-aware, we have the strength to make this decision on our own, to hold on or let go. Reflecting on our needs and determining if what’s been hanging around for years needs to stay around. Well, that day in September I chose to let go and work toward building something new.

Sometimes it is just time to cut the strands of our light to move forward. Cutting strands from a light:

1. Builds capacity for trying something new.
2. Releases the weight of the past.
3. Brings a new perspective.
4. Focuses on here and now.
5. Embraces the future.
​
Yes, I used a simplistic metaphor to describe the struggle with deciding to hold on or let go. Take some time this upcoming week to consider what strands need cutting from your light to enhance your shine.
​
What is worth holding on to and what is worth letting go of to move forward?

“Holding on is believing that there’s only a past; letting go is knowing there’s a future.”
– Daphne R. Kingma