I had an epiphany in the shower this morning while rinsing through all my long hair, trying to get every drop of shampoo out. I realized through the process of washing my long locks that hair length is a good example of minimalism.

            If you have longer hair it takes longer to shampoo--much longer to thoroughly shampoo it and way longer to rinse the shampoo from your hair. And if you use a conditioner it takes another round of applying the conditioner to all your hair, and then another thorough rinse.

            Short hair is a quick wash. Easy in, easy out.

            I can guarantee that 10 minutes of my shower time in the morning is washing and conditioning my hair since I have let it grow long.

Not so with short hair.

Then there is drying. It takes much longer to dry long hair. And, painstakingly longer to brush it all out.

Short hair is quick to dry and is so much easier to brush out!

            When I had short hair, I mostly would just “blow and go”. Add a little hair spray and I’m done.

            Currently with my long locks, I don’t even bother blow drying unless I am in a hurry, and it is cold outside. It is much harder to style, and often I do not bother. I grab my hair in the back and wrap a cloth band around it three times for a quick ponytail.

            Although there are more things you can do with long hair, I do not take the time to do so. I miss the speed with which I could do my hair when it was short. Short and simple.

            Then you add in the cost! Long hair requires more shampoo and conditioner—much more! And haircuts or coloring take longer, and costs more for longer hair than it does for short hair.

            Now, I am not saying you should only have short hair, likewise, I am not saying you need to be a minimalist. However, you need to know you can spend less time and money on things, or you can spend more. It is a matter of prioritizing where you spend your time and money.

             I was watching a news segment recently about a local salon that offers hair extensions. I watched how “simple” the process seemed to be, and then how beautiful and full the model’s hair looked after adding the extensions.

            Impressed, I made a mental note that I should try hair extensions. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have my hair looking so long and full?? And the way the curls and waves cascaded down her shoulders! It would be wonderful to have my hair look so amazing!

            But then I thought about the price and the time it would take and thought perhaps this is something I should do one time…save the idea of extensions for something special--like my wedding.

“Yes, that’s it”, I thought, “extensions should be a splurge I do for my wedding!”

            A few days later, I asked myself why I need to look like anyone else other than myself on my wedding day? I mean, of course, I would like to look like the BEST ME I can, but do I need to look like someone else with someone else’s hair?

            I realized that the news segment had me caught up in the way my hair could look, instead of just being satisfied with the way my hair does look.

            Having hair extensions and making my hair look full and flowing is not really me, even though for a short while after seeing that segment I had convinced myself it was what I wanted and needed.

When in reality, it is not.

            Likewise, many things we buy when we see it all new and flashy, we certainly think that is what we want and need.

When in reality, it is not.

            We need food, water and shelter, and some close relationships. Many things are modern conveniences, or just flashy things on a shelf. But if it is not useful, or if it ends up in a closet or storage unit somewhere, did we really need to buy it in the first place?

            After sorting through my late husband’s possessions, facing all the “collections” of matchbooks, comic books, rocks, t-shirts, books, and movie stubs (just to name a few), that were stored away in dusty boxes, the value of all these possessions dawned on me.

            Many of these things had value only to my husband during his time on this earth. He spent his time and money on these things, but many of his possessions were only a placeholder for his memories. Some things may have had some real value, but most things really did not. And after he was gone, many of those things did not hold similar value to those he left behind.

            Similar to hair, we choose the time and money we want to spend on our hair. Right now, I have it long, and I spend the time and money to care for it. But soon I will go back to short hair because I would rather spend my time and money on things that mean more to me than my hair.

            And I choose to spend less time and money on things that might end up in dusty boxes, waiting to be opened after I leave this earth.

At the end of the day, or more importantly, at the end of your life, will you be happy with how you spent your time and money?

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