new thread
Hello Fellow Enthusiasts of Long and Shaggy Protein Strands,
I've been pondering the above topic quite a bit recently; so, just thought I'd share some of my geezerly thoughts going through my hairy little brain about it. Hopefully I won't get TOO long-winded, --- but, then again, the word "long" makes me think of "hair" which makes me want to combine the 2 words of "long hair" into "longhair" which reminds me of the word "wind" which I think about blowing through my looooong hair and then causes me to wax poetic and then become "long-winded"...
It's just a vicious circle!
Anyway, time for me to stop digressing & get back to the main topic at hand (LOL)....
I think it was in one of Oren's posts or replies that I first heard the feeling described as, "anatomically complete" by him having his long hair. What a brilliant term for it!
I could IMMEDIATELY identify with that description, because: during my childhood from as far back as I can remember, all through my teen years, and then well into adulthood I yearned someday to be able to grow my hair out. I thought about it day and night, in fact. And the more my dad or others around me tried to stop it from ever happening, the more I longed for it to someday come true.
When I was real young, "long" hair to me at that time just meant being allowed to have it full and a bit floppy-mopsy looking (like falling into my eyes and shaggy around the ears). I was born in '53, and since the Beatles didn't really hit it BIG over in the US until around '64, shoulder-length hair was completely off my radar until I first started seeing it on other guys my age in the later 1960s. The first time I ever saw a guy with hair half-way down his back wasn't until the extreme end of the '60s. The first waist-lenght hair on a guy I'd never seen (in-person, at least) until the year of '72. And my first "MEGA-longhair sighting (with hair butt-length or longer) wasn't until 1979. That sight just about caused me to almost faint on the spot!!!
Here is the definition of "longing", as found in the Webster's Dictionary that I have here at home: "strong, persistent desire or craving."
Well, I'd be only a fool if I tried to continue denying myself and argue against something that I intuitively felt I'd be happier having! I remember the first time I ever visited MLHH back in the fall of '03, one of the regular members at that time described having a "burning desire" to grow his hair out (and he even ephasized the word, "BURNING")!!! (And this was a happily married man with kids, as I recall, --- so, obviously this was an issue of him wanting to feel complete about his body identity.)
Sometimes I think about HAIR along with the famous "Serenity Prayer" that people in 12-Step programs have posted in their homes (I have a fair amount of freinds and dance partners who happen to be in AA or other similar programs). For those who are unfamiliar with it, it goes something like this:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
a NON 12-Step program friend of mine has her own version of the above prayer:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people who pissed me off!"
Here's my own version of the above prayer, for those of us that are "hair-aholics":
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things about my hair genetics that I cannot change, the courage to change the things about my hair that I can, and the wisdom to stay far far away from the evil-devil scissors!"
- Ken in San Francisco
Don't stop there, you was just getting warmed up.
I've heard and/or seen the first two serenity prayers before, and I like them both for obviously different reasons. But your version is also good and I enjoyed reading it.
Daniel
LOL, thanks, Daniel! You've heard of that new 12-Step program that's related to "ALANON" (not sure I spelled that correctly)? It's called, "And On And On And On And On!" (Which is exactly how I can get if people don't occasionally tell me to shut up - LOL!!) But, since you've asked me not to stop, here's some more for ya!....
Here's another Serenity Prayer version that I just came up with, adjusted and re-worded appropriately for those of us who identify with being die-hard long hair addicts:
"Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the fact that I may not be able to grow my hair to knee-length or longer; the courage to give anybody telling me to 'get a haircut' my middle finger; and the wisdom to keep coming back to MLHH for inspiration, encouragement, and the ability to keep sharing and showing off my most recent hair pic updates!"
- Ken
Especially the courage to extend my middle finger toward the hair nazi part....LOL
Daniel
That's a good 'prayer' to say Ken. I'm trying to accept my own hair situation along similar lines. I really wish mine was thicker, shed less and wasn't so prone to tangles but I still enjoy what I do have and try to take steps to maximize its potential. I am inspired by those who have better hair than I have although I'll admit to some jealousy from time to time. I guess I still have some work to do on the serenity part, LOL.
I feel the same way, but from where I stand, you're my hair hero, and here you are saying your hair could be better. It's all from where you're looking. For me, you have about three times the hair volume, and then you look to those who have three times the hair you do. It's funny how it works, no?
It's true that there will almost always be someone who has better hair than us though I wonder if that's true in Joao's case. I look at some of the hair at LHC and am blown away. Granted, most are women, but still....
Thank you for your kind words about my hair, Matt.
Ya know Jason, you are the ob ject of envy and jealousy for at least some posters here, I can admit to being one of them. Although I'm quite content with my hairs thickness, I also wished that I'd shed less and wasn't so prone to tangles. But I also envy those that have the classic length hair. One would think that after 11 years since the last hack job, I of all people would have achived that for myself by now. But noooo, not me. No matter how much I love and admire hair that long I just can't quit get what I really desire for hair length.
I have a good friend that is also a longhair. We are actually about the same size and he does have the classic length. Funny thing is though, we both envy each other's hair for different reasons. He envy's my waves and color, while I envy his length and straightness. As an aside note though; I don't know why he would envy my color as we have about the same color hair, however he thinks my hair is darker than his. oh well as the saying goes the grass is alway greener on the other side of the fence, or in this case "The Hair is always better on someone elses head"
I guess it is true, we are our own worse critics.
Daniel
You make some good points. I think it's very important to enjoy and appreciate what we have. Although I would like my hair to be thicker, I'm also appreciative for how thick it is compared to how it could have been had my genetics been different.