Blog 674: Lost or Visionary

I love listening to a fun story.
I especially love living one.

And that’s why I got my haircut THERE.

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I was in the Caribbean.

When my hair starts to grow too long, I feel sloppy.

It was still a week before I would return to California and be able to get my haircut at my regular place, but I couldn’t let it wait that long.

I needed a cut…now.

______

Barbershops and salons.

I found lots of choices as I walked through town that day.
I peeked inside a few to feel the vibe.

I had never had my hair cut in another country before…
so I was definitely looking for a place with good energy.

And I found one.

I also found a good story.

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The sign outside the place read: “Clipper Cuts.”

“That’s interesting,” I thought as I went in to check it out.

Inside…

Reggae music was playing. Men were talking and laughing…
and there was a super positive and fun buzz about the place.

There were four barber chairs…each occupied by a barber and a customer. There were also four guys on the side of the shop waiting for their turn to jump into one of the chairs.

This is definitely where I wanted to be.

______

Before I continue…

There are two things that make this hair-cutting story…a story.

#1. I was the only white guy in the place.
#2. I was the only guy who didn’t want his head shaved.

The eyes of a dozen men all turning as I walked in was a hint to the fact that I was…different.

Three lines of thought could have been at play here with all the scanning eyes.

#1. “Is he lost?“
#2. “Is he crazy?“
#3. “Is the crazy guy…lost?“

______

The once high-energy room turned quiet with my entrance.

I took the fifth “customer-in-waiting” seat…and waited my turn.

One of the barbers stopped the slick, full-shining dome shave he was doing and broke the silence.

In a thick and cool Caribbean accent, he smiled and said to me. “You want a shave like this?” He pointed to the smiling, bald customer in his chair.

I smiled back, “No.“

He pointed to the guy sitting next to me who wore his head shaved on the sides and very short on the top. “You want one like that?“

Again, I said, “No.” I then asked, “Can you just do a scissors cut?“

“With these!” he proclaimed.

He held up his clippers.

The room laughed.

“I’m pretty sure one of you guys is good with scissors…right?” I challenged, scanning the barbers, looking for one face to be on my side.

One spoke up. “I can give you the scissors.“

The jokes began.

The fun returned to the room.

I got my scissors cut.

______

Admittedly…

It was a most delicate cutting — seemingly only a few strands of my hair were snipped at a time — but I left after 50 minutes in the chair feeling as if I had one of my all-time best haircuts.

But far, far more than that…

It was the most fun I ever had going to the barber.

______

Much of the time…

We easily feel the stiff “headwind” that life rudely blows in our face.

The disappointment, frustration, pressure, worry, defeat, and negativity that routinely sap our positivity often become our main mental and emotional focus.

Life easily loses its fun.

I think that’s kinda’ the way we as humans seem to be programmed.

Find the hard.
Feel the hard.
Whine about the hard.

Of course…

Life seems extra hard when we consistently keep doing THAT.

And THAT is why in the middle of all the headwinds…
we should never forget to create the fun WINS, too.

Find the fun.
Feel the fun.
Celebrate the fun.

Like I did on a day I needed a haircut.

In a small Caribbean barbershop.

Meant for guys who wear shining bald heads.

S.