Grizzly thoughts

-

Bergen has a club of sorts for people in the insurance and finance industry, and since that's the industry I am employed in, I meet a lot of current and former co-workers at the meetings. Tonight we our venue was one of the Hurtigruten's ships. We heard a talk about a new insurance company starting in Norway, and after the talk, we moved to the ship's forward restaurant for an excellent cod dinner and a view of fog settling on Fløien. (When codfish is so good it almost tastes like meat, you understand why it is such a prized fish.) We had coffee on deck 7 and I left as they were testing the ship's alarm systems; the ship will leave for Kirkenes tonight after 10 pm.

I enjoyed the company, the conversation, and mentioning my 25th anniversary party (which conflicts with the club's own 80th anniversary party). But what got to me was how many of my colleagues had gray or even white hair. One had been a dark brunette before, and I had to comment on her new blonde look. She said that she was in that neither-this-nor-that stage so she decided to dye it all blonde. A third woman with us had salt-and-pepper hair.

I remember once saying to myself that I didn't want to stay with the company until I'm gray, but I may have to eat my words, because tonight I found it quite comforting to think of joining my older co-workers in going grizzled.

Comments

Sparkling Red said…
I like to hear of people letting themselves wear their silver hair proudly. It seems like everyone in North America colours their hair from the first strand of grey, even many of the men. Seeing an older woman with undyed hair is almost a shock.
February 29, 2008 3:12 AM
SolSionnach said…
That's one of the reasons why I let mine go natural a while back (besides, it's EXPENSIVE to keep up a dye job when you're seriously gray), and I do think that it makes me stand out a bit.

Go Grizzlys! (and here I though that your poast was about bears!)
February 29, 2008 6:02 AM
Michele said…
I've been getting blonde highlights for years now. It's expensive and mostly a PITA but I don't like the "real" color of my hair. It's sort of musty dark blonde with a patch of gray in the front. I actually wish more of it would go gray or silver---that one streak frightens me.

On the plus side, I get to practice my Norwegian with my hairdresser every couple of months. :-)

BTW, that cod sounds delicious!
February 29, 2008 9:01 AM
Keera Ann Fox said…
Spark, most Norwegian women dye their hair, too. My few strands of silver are not the reason I play with dye. :-)

Sravana, I like that you let yourself become a silver fox! Or grizzly bear. Whichever. ;-)

Michele, I used to not like my ash brown until my hairdresser pointed out that my hair was perfectly ash brown all over. I'd actually like a contrast in the front like yours. Wanna trade?
February 29, 2008 7:36 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I love you. Thank you.

-
Image
Some time last month, I was listening to a new spiritual podcast, and the speaker said that we can all heal ourselves and each other by stating, "I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you." Apparently, this series of four short statements healed all the patients of a psychiatric facility, simply by being uttered by a doctor while he was looking at the patient files. I was intrigued. So I googled the phrase and discovered it comes from a Hawaiian spiritual ritual called ho'oponopono .* I found a blogpost that described this "cleaning" process. I found an online article claiming that you can heal the whole planet with ho'oponopono because everything that comes into your sphere of experience is your responsibility.** I searched Amazon for books describing ho'oponopono. I bought Mable Katz 's book "The Easiest Way" .*** And her title may not be an exaggeration. After reading her short book, I have replaced my usual rit...
Read more

The ho'oponopono adventure continues

-
Image
Ever since I discovered the ho'oponopono practice of forgiveness and healing about 3 years ago , I have used it, pursued it, and experienced healings big and small. I have taught it to a few friends. To my delight, they have embraced it and discovered for themselves the instant peace that comes with cleaning (as using ho'oponopono is called; you are cleaning your subconscious of unhelpful beliefs). My friend Alice showed me this picture she took from her hotel window in London: Every morning, I started my day by looking out that window. ILY, ILY, ILY. It was a beautiful way to start the morning. Every day, I felt the embrace of the city and I'd like to think that the city felt my ILYs. We certainly had nothing but pleasant interactions with people (and in fact, a few times, we had people offer unsolicited help!). I responded to her with this: The ho'oponopono "trick" of repeating to yourself "I love you" when in a negative situation really...
Read more

Getting my beliefs challenged

-
I own the extended DVD set of "What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?" , also known as "Down the Rabbit Hole". I can't remember now how my browsing the internet today started, but I ended up learning a lot about the science in "What the Bleep": It's terribly inaccurate. There are other inaccuracies or downright errors, but for the most part quantum mechanics only work on quantum levels, not at sizes like a basketball or a universe or even a mere atom. And that spoils all New Age claims that it is quantum physics that explain the Law of Attraction or any other woo-woo belief, like spontaneous healing, psychic phenomenon or near-death experiences. Dang. I was so hoping science could explain these things by now. My surfing has brought me to The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry . There I have found good writing, and proper skepticism. Not the finger-pointing pooh-poohing of beliefs, but rather a behind-the-scenes look at some claims and what's factually ...
Read more