I love people. I love to talk, and hear others’ stories. I
love to learn what has made someone into the person they are. When my
dreadlocks help me to meet people I can form new bonds with, I can’t help but
be overwhelmed with excitement. Whether we, humans, like to believe it or not-
each individual person you meet impacts you someway, somehow. Whether this
impact is in the way you view life, the way you interact with others or even
opening your mind to new hobbies or interest, interaction with others essentially
molds us into who we become in the future. This past weekend, I met a man who
definitely impacted me. After meeting this gentleman, I couldn’t stop thinking
about HOW I could possibly be more like him…
This blog post is not like those I’ve posted in the past,
that has existed to teach you something new about dreadlocks. This blog post is
to tell you a little about a man that made me stop and re-evaluate my life.
What does this have to do with dreadlocks? Let me enlighten you…
I was sitting at a bar with a few friends on Friday night.
We had gone to a popular bar and grill in the downtown area of Plainfield, IL
for burgers and beers. A friend of mine noticed an older man with dreadlocks on
the other side of the bar, sitting with a few people at a table. My friend said
to me, “dude, check out THOSE dreads, you’ve gotta go say hi.” Being the person
who 1. Doesn’t refuse a challenge and 2. Loves to interact with others, I ran
on over to my fellow dreadhead and said “That’s some sick hair, man!” He replied
with a laugh “You too!” I didn’t realize it until he spoke up but ironically, a
friend of mine, B, was sitting at the table with this dreaded older gentleman,
and he yelled, surprised, “THIS IS THE CHICK I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT!!” You
see, B is running a recording company and we’ve been talking business for
months now. He needs a PR person to help him out. This man with the dreads just
so happens to be a DJ that he is about to go on tour with. I guess B was
telling the man about my education, and a little about who I was as a person.
We all sat down and started to talk. B asked me how I was doing and brought up
recent, personal events happening in my own life that have me pretty stressed
out… and as I told B how much I was “freaking out” the man interjected.
This guy began talking to me about how I must live life
instead of worrying about what will happen next. I learned that this man was
dreaded not because he thought it looked nice, but because he was Rastafarian.
Rastafarians believe that dreadlocks are a symbol of wisdom and strength. I can
tell you, he was definitely a wise man. He began to talk to me about the Rasta
religion. We also talked about why I should not place so much tension into my
mental waves. He talked to me about how much stress affects your physical life
as well. “There’s no point to do anything but go with the flow, love the life
you live.” Something about the energy this man was radiating from himself
really made me envious. I wanted, and still want, to be at peace with myself in
the same way that he is. Even sitting next to him was making me feel better. I
thought about this man for the remainder of my weekend… and am obviously still
thinking about him now.
We must let go of stresses that we have no control over. We
must stop, and enjoy the little things life has to offer us. Nobody can give us
back the days that are wasted by worrying about what the future holds, and life
is simply too short to be missing out
on any of it. If you never appreciate the now, the future that you worry about
so much will not be appreciated either. I’ve decided to take a step towards
living life this way, and hopefully one day I will have a peace about myself
much like the man I met on Friday.
If you’re the type of person, like myself, that worries too
much about the stresses in life, lets make a pact to release that stress and
begin to appreciate everything. Stress may not be the best to deal with, but it
does make us stronger. Let’s begin by looking at the silver lining.
Come back next time for more From the Desk of a Dreadhead, and remember to go with the flow.
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