Don’t cut your own hair.
At some point in 2017, I decided to stop dyeing my hair for the first time since high school. It was part of an overall effort for me to become less expensive to maintain. Dyeing my hair had been a long time treat; it always provided me with fresh energy and made me feel amazing. It was not something small for me to give up.
It wasn’t that difficult, though, because I just wanted to see what was under there. Sure, I knew what my natural hair color was, but I didn’t know what I would look like wearing it, or if I’d started to develop some gray hair, or what its natural texture looks like. Now, turns out I like the hair just fine, so I’ll keep it at least a while. But that’s’ not the point. Plenty of people don’t like their hair and they should do what they want (um, safely).
The bigger picture is this: I let go of something that controlled my self-perception, my schedule, and my self-confidence, and felt great releasing myself from it. Is there something similar in your life you are discovering right now? Are you experiencing a newfound freedom from being tethered to a routine or object?
We are giving up so much more of our creature comforts than ever before. Of course there are millions of people who are forced into that, but there are also millions more who just aren’t buying stuff. We know that it is not good for these companies, not good for their employees, and not good for the overall economy if people don’t spend money.
It’s hard to not notice how much we are held hostage by that, though. It’s hard to ignore that a pause in accumulating things, a pause in needing things, a pause in seeing people who know whether you need a new pair of shoes, a pause in activites that require you accessorize. How many people skipped buying a new swimsuit so far this year?
It’s hard to reconcile the fact that such a short period of time has laid waste to our entire economic system; it’s hard for me to reconcile that it was so fragile, yet we have been taught and encouraged to worship it. If the free market cannot adapt to the fact that no matter what the government says, people will not spend if it’s not safe, it’s hard for me to miss it very much.
I certainly am not going to feel guilt, no matter what our leaders want, for not going out and spend-spend-spending. There is enough money in the world to support us through this; it’s on them to allocate it.
Me with Momas the Mooncat. What face am I making behind it? You can buy this postcard if you want. It comes with a stamp!
I don’t know the answers; I doubt that the people who’ve benefitted from our system will us out of it. It’s not like we can seemlessly transition into a barter/money-less society. Since money is so precious but time is in abundance, we must stretch our money and be generous with our time, and hope that the payoff from those two investments is significant. For a lot of you, I’ve realized, that has taken the form of sending out handwritten notes to those you love. You can always get some supplies for that from me, of course, but really, do what you can with your resources.
Here is Momas. He was the first cat on the moon, which is quite an accomplishment. I always call him “Mooncat.” He is one of the characters available on my pre-stamped postcards - probably a good one to send to a kiddo who is still dreaming big at a time when the world is so small. I hope you enjoy this video and can spend a moment zoning out.