27 May 2021
Hairdresser Context
Going to the hairdresser is great until you realise you had forgotten you booked in for something different today. And different it was!
Even though I slept well, I was still feeling tired and irritable. Once again, I had plans for a big productive day, and with a good chunk allocated to me. You see, it was hairdresser day! Woohoo! Love hairdresser day. While the colour is in my hair, colourin’, I can sit and relax while the hairdresser is busy with other customers. This “free” space leaves me time to get writing or learning or simply whatever. It’s pure bliss! It’s just like waiting for an aeroplane to depart at the airport.
What I had forgotten today was “big” colour day. Several hairdresser visits ago, a comment made by me suggested I wanted to go a “mushroom brown” colour. It’s the shade of the “brown dry shampoo” sprayed onto my darker hair before I’ve worked it into the ends.
At the Hairdresser
I was greeted, as ever, by the lovely Caty, Keely and Chris, who primarily works on the barber’s side but is also a fully trained hairdresser in his right (by the way, not their real names). The change in hair colour is my strategic move to ease me into the greying process. Mushroom would blend in with my natural greying roots and not look like a reverse GT-stripe. It would also accustom others around me to a lighter shade of brown. The aim was to own my age – eventually.
Caty, the Colourist, was very excited because she doesn’t often get the opportunity to play with her colours. It wasn’t the fashion “grey” going around. Since most people, I mentioned the colour to refrained from commenting anything apart from “that’s interesting”, it challenged Caty.
After making the appointment, I promptly forgot all about the conversation. The hairdresser hadn’t. So, today sat at a different chair and discussed what needed to happen, and Caty went to get the price. Luckily for me, I was sitting down! It was double my regular colouring treatment. The change in the chair and the cost had me on the tired back foot.
I could back out of the colour, but you know the saying, “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten”. The phrase was utterly relevant to today’s hairdresser visit. So, regardless of cost, I progressed with the request.
The colour foils took forever. My free space had gone, and when the colour was left to “percolate” under the sci-fi brain-sucker hair heater, I was too far away from the counter to type. In the end, I sat back and stopped fighting the process.
Hairdresser Swap Out
In addition to the hair treatment, the eyelashes and eyebrows get tinted. In the excitement, this got forgotten. On top of the forgotten hair colour, I was surprised to see Chris, with scissors in hand at the ready, when it came to the cut. Double-take, I said (internally), “what?”. Okay. Something of the internal monologue may have spilt out onto my face because there was a hurried, “are you okay with that?” from Caty. A little belatedly and put on the spot, of course, saying no was going to be awkward.
Without the surprise, I would be okay with any one of the skilled staff cutting my hair. It was a surprise on top of a few other surprises already, and my tiredness didn’t help my response. Since Shelley left, Keely had been my hairdresser. Keely or someone would advise if she had been double-booked or couldn’t do the cut. This simple act of someone letting me know was what was needed. Caty did apologise, although not convinced she understood entirely why.
On the back foot, yet again, I “lashed” out with a comment similar to, ” I finally had gotten Keely to understand the haircut I wanted,” energy drop and mumble. The second the words escaped my mouth, I wanted to bring them back. It wasn’t an accurate or fair comment on either Keely or Chris or the circumstance, for that matter. In one silly statement, I undervalued Keely and Chris’s hairdressing capabilities. At the same time, under-mining Caty’s skills as a salesperson. Argh! 😟
Hairdresser Colours
It’s weird; even with the awareness of me being whiney, I couldn’t prevent the words from escaping from my mouth. My approach was passive-aggressive, which I disliked even more. Why do we sometimes trap ourselves so?
Finally, it was time to unveil the colour. The colour was pretty, but I was unenthused. There was too much change happening to me for me to appreciate the beauty fully. The eyebrows got done but were too dark or my hair too light. Feeling bad for Caty, who was enthusiastic about the colour, I tried to muster the joy I would feel at a future point in time. My ability to tap that far into my future today just wasn’t coming to the party.
To save me from completely being rude and without lying before I knew how I felt about my hair, I desperately searched for any little thing I liked. It turned out to be a slight flick at the bottom hair, the beginnings of an appreciation for the haircut itself. It wasn’t much; once Caty went to get her camera to take a photo, I took a moment to compose myself and look at the colour properly without Caty’s expectations. My hair was different, but it was beautiful, and I couldn’t stop looking at it. When Caty returned said as much to her.
As a final comment, it’s been a long time since a hairdresser has thrown me back into hairdresser “dislike” mode. Today reminded me of the reasons why colouring your hair is beneficial – you’ve got complete control at a much lower price. The next visit will be similar in terms of time and cost; now that I know Chris or Caty will be doing the cut, I’m cool with that.
Today's Cards
The Cards - Analysis
Carryover Cards
Only one card carried over from yesterday; Totality moved from Others’ Views to Feelings or Immediate Future position.
Cross
Intensity is in the Now influenced by Moment to Moment. Intensity equals going your way, and Moment to Moment is the “no longer fighting the process” mentioned in the Hairdresser Context.
The Goal was that of Sharing, and Sharing is about finding generosity of spirit that you can give because you have plenty. An admirable goal, but I think this was a failure for me today – saved a little at the end, maybe (?).
Transformation in the Distant Past indicates when I decided to agree to the change in hair colour.
Recently (Recent Past), the Comparison between old and new colour or perhaps it’s the way communication. It was different from the past. In either case, it was a pointless comparison to make.
The Future Energy card has The Rebel, which echoes and supports the Intensity card. It’s almost the same thing, except The Rebel is unhindered by the usual emotion, physical or guilty constraints. Intensity is the desire to break free, and The Rebel does it without consciously trying to be The Rebel.
Base
Wow! Totality in the Immediate Future or Feelings position is about letting the process play out. Committing to the process is what did happen, albeit begrudgingly end up happening 😇. Moving from yesterday’s Others’ Views might be others seeing me throw myself into the haircut. It’s unlikely since I hadn’t been advertising the change because I’d forgotten it was going to happen.
Others’ Views is The Lovers. It’s comforting for me to see this in this position because it means the hairdresser saw me as cooperative and with constructive feedback. Phew!
In the Hopes & Fears is Guilt. It is unsurprising since it’s how I felt and feared I’d let on during the day when I was undergoing adaptation. The hope was to hide it and not extend it beyond my internal headspace, and the fear conveyed the disapproval it was, which would make me feel Guilt over again.
Finally, the Traveling card represents physical journey in the Outcome position. Today, my husband and I began to talk about a vacation.
References
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
