I have learned to sort out what issues are just life and can be ignored, and what I need to change. Here is what I have figured out.
My hair has always been naturally curly, for all of my life.
When I was a child, I didn’t know who Shirley Temple was. I only knew that people often called me Shirley Temple because of my hair.
By the time I was a teenager, I decided to try to straighten my hair. I bought every crazy product that could possibly have straightened my hair. Sometimes I was successful at straightening my hair, but usually, as soon as I walked outside it curled up again immediately.
As an adult, I continued my efforts to straighten my hair. Even though I have moved over 700 miles from where I grew up to a less humid environment, my hair still curls up almost every time I walk outside.
Four years ago, I decided to simply accept my hair even though I do not like looking like Shirley Temple. It is part of me, so I have learned to say, “That’s just life!” when I see it impishly curling all over the place.
Now I just wash my hair and let it dry naturally and fall any way it wants to, then I pull it back into a headband.
The interesting thing is that I feel happier now that I have let go of what has been a lifetime struggle.
I have learned how to separate what I need to fix and which struggles I can ignore in my present circumstances.
So how do I separate issues? When the issue harms anyone at all in any way, then I must fix it. But I ignore it when it harms no one, including myself.
My curly hair hurts no one, it is just a frustration for me. So I just let it go. It is just life.
When something in your life bugs you, ask yourself if it hurts anyone at all, including yourself. If it negatively impacts anyone at all, perhaps you should try to fix it. But if it hurts no one, perhaps you should just ignore it.
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
