Getting a Hair Cut

I simply marvel at the person that cuts my hair. She’s a tiny little lady, and yet, has more energy in that little body than I have in my considerably larger one.

When she cuts my hair, its not so much as simply taking my hair length from long to short (or in my case really bald looking to less noticeably bald looking!), as it is creating a work of art. A snip here, a moment to study it there, and then another snip, all working towards the final end of creating a work of sculpture if you will of which she can be proud.

And, when she’s actually doing the cutting of my hair, or anyone else’s for that matter, time stands still for her. It’s just she and my little old head, trying to mold and sculpt my hair, getting lost in the moments of doing so. When my barber cuts my hair, it’s almost a spiritual experience for her, I think.

I was struck by the amount of love for her craft she obviously has, and it hit me that for her at least, her craft was not so much a “job” as it was an act of creation. She obviously is in touch with that fire within her, that “holy spirit” of creativity that was breathed into her at creation. God has instilled that same love of creation into all of us as well.

Call it imagination, call it creativity, call it what you will, our ability to create things or stuff out of whole cloth is what separates us from all other beings. I’m not here to discuss the divinity of man versus the animals (I actually happen to believe that animals are quite divine, thank you very much!), but mankind’s ability to imagine possibilities, and then manifest these imaginings into material results is our unique gift. “Real life”…whatever that is…doesn’t necessarily encourage us, however, to express this creativity.

Oh sure, at the beginning of our formal education we are encouraged to paint the world the way we see it. But, sadly, at least it was my experience, the world imposes its own sense of normalcy upon us all too quickly, and tells us what’s acceptable, and what’s not. It’s as if our imagination starts to be progressively penned in, until we reach the point of adulthood, and we are left with no real spark of creativity. Lemmings indeed.

I hope I never become like this. My wonderful mother has always told me I have such a wonderful sense of imagination, and I happen to agree with her on that point. There have been times in my life, however, where I have stifled that creative flow for fear of seeming “different”. During those times in my life, a sense of loss would fill my days. Loss, because I wasn’t doing that which we are all created to do…namely, “create” ourselves. We are all given this wonderful gift of imagination. It has long been said that which we can believe in, we can eventually conceive. That’s a not happenstance folk. That’s the spark of the divine within all of us.

So, you ask, “You got all this wisdom out of a simple haircut?” My friends, that’s why I call my ramblings the Ministry of the Mundane!

It’s been my experience that from the mundane springs the profound.

Have a great day.

-The Minister