Science shows that showing gratitude makes a measurable difference in your happiness quotient.  Writing what you are grateful for in a journal, or just slowing down to think about what you are grateful for, can open doors to more intimacy with people in your life, improve physical health, psychological health, enhances empathy and reduces aggression, makes you sleep better, improves self-esteem, and increases mental strength. That is some powerful stuff, but how do we rewire ourselves to change how we see the world around us and really stand in an authentic state of gratitude?  What do we have to give up?  Is it just looking at the proverbial glass half full perspective?  I think it's more than that.

There are many qualities that I value that make me a good stylist.  I have great patience for detail, I can visualize exactly how I want your hair to look and I am very, very picky.  I am in the zone and I love it!  On the other hand, when I take those traits out into my personal life, it can spell trouble.  Scrutinizing my life like detailing a haircut does not service me well and makes it difficult for me to find my place of authentic gratitude.  I have had to learn to leave my perfectionism and certainty about "how things should be" at the door when I leave the salon.  It allows me to find gratitude in my everyday life, and I find I am happier.

I have had to give up on the notion of certainty and open myself up to thinking in new ways.  As we go about our lives in the salon and in our personal lives, we have had to make adjustments.  There are rituals we have to be mindful of, and not short cut for our safety and the safety of our community. 

For our salon team, and our family, we are so grateful to you and our community to be able to serve you again and be open for business.  I believe we are living though a time of great transformation and shifts in the way we see things.  As painful as it feels now, I am grateful to be witness to what I believe is an historical time of awakening, and because I know the choices I make now, have the power to make a difference.  We will look back at this time and, see the successes and failures as lessons learned.  Slowing down has made me evaluate what is important to me, like respecting each other, compassion, and empathy, as well as just loving one another.  I think that we lose our humanity without these things, and there is no place for gratitude without considering others, letting go of certainty, and being open to the unknowable.