A Balder Kind of Me

This is me following my haircut! 

Yesterday, I decided to cut off all of my hair. I don’t have any particular reason for doing that - apart from the fact that I’m already feeling the heat of summer and I was long due for a hair cut. On another level, I wanted to see how much having no hair - even if for a short time - would affect my self-image and the ways other people related to me. I also wanted to take this step, perhaps, to make a some kind of statement.

We may take hair for granted and don’t realise how much it can have an impact on the way others look at and relate to us. Besides our voices, the face and hair mark us apart from other people - provided they can see or her that is. But then, who we are beyond the senses? This is an important question but it’s beyond the scope of this entry to ask that question here but, hopefully, I’ll deal with that issue in other future posts.

But, yes, having my hair shaven off still compelled jokingly suggest that I had escaped from prison or became a Buddhist monk. I was complimented by most but, I admit, there was a kind of change in the way I felt when I presented my baldy self beyond the safety of the home. In a way, I am changed and, even if it’s not true that I escaped from prison or adopted the vows of a Buddhist monk, I have, in a sense, escaped from prison and have embraced many of the Buddhist precepts and am trying to practice them in the real world.

It may be true that hair is just part of our bodies. But, in time, you realise that human beings have used to express more than a fashion statement but used to express something about who they were. I did make a brief search of the Bible because I still like to explore what my original religious roots can teach me about life. Many times, it helps complement my growing understanding of Buddhism. Well, I was surprised how hair had a religious significance in Judaism and Christianity.

Indeed, even if whether having long or short hair is preferred is unclear, hair does feature in many important Bible accounts.. Indeed, the Bible search came up with 99 references to “hair” with a significant number only referring to “goat hair”. But, apart from that, hair and the cleanliness of the body are closely related. Indeed, Leviticus praises men who have a bald and clean head. On the other hand, it was disgraceful and even unholy for a woman to wear short hair. Well, this difference is again repeated in Corinthians.

However, it would be a mistake if one took the statements of the Bible out of socio-historical context. Indeed, health concerns in the Old Testament and also cultural tradition in the New have played an important role in establishing such conclusion. It is also worth mentioning that it was reported in the Bible that particular groups of Israelites, such as the Nazarenes, kept their hair long as a sign of devotion and also shaved it off later on it seems.

Hair represents strength and masculinity in the story of the then strong Samson who was betrayed by Delilah and, who ultimately, sacrificed himself and regained enough strength to regain justice. Hair is also that which is used to dry up Jesus’ feet when he visited a friend. Here, again, hair can be seen as a sign of humility and devotion. 

Today, with a powerful hair style industry, we wouldn’t dream of using our hair to dry up the feet of someone we adored - not even if we believed he or she was divine. Indeed, with all the promotion for hair growth treatment and our preoccupation with physical appearance, I wonder whether we’re really dealing with the inner part of us.

If I were to look at what Buddhism says about hair, I know that Buddhist monks keep their hair shaven to express their devotion to the teachings or teachings of the Buddha. This is because, for many, our hair at times gets more attention than it might deserve and we may grow too attached or obsessed with caring for it in case it starts falling out. 

Indeed, hair says many things by just standing there on our heads. Whether it’s a punk fan, a heavy metal fan, a man or woman, a Hassidic Jew, a skinhead, a convict, a person who has cancer or a Buddhist monk or we’re just getting old, our hair can tell without telling. But, whatever the length of your hair is or whether you have hair at all, I think that only thing matters.

Who you are inside is what really  matters..

Nothing else matters.

    

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