EDGES! WHY HAVE THOU FORSAKEN ME???
This morning I put my hair up in a puff and I noticed my edges were thinning ya’ll! MY EDGES!!! I have edges! I have full edges! I have the edges that others envy. I don’t lay them often, if at all. I don’t do much to my hair. I combed out my locs a few months ago and have been gingerly caring for my hair since but my edges! Baby, my edges! These babies have been there for me. They have shown me love even when no one in the world would. My edges have flourished even when the rest of my hair (and life if I’m being honest) was in shambles!!
EDGES! WHY HAVE THOU FORSAKEN ME???
So I get out all of the drama. I calm down (kinda) and I place a (probably more dramatic) FaceTime call to the homie, the sister, who tells me it’s probably just stress. I’m like, what do you mean stress? We don’t do stress. – an immediate response, I know what I said, I am working on it. I promise. – But then I stopped and thought about everything that has been going on around me lately. I work full-time, I am in graduate school part-time, I volunteer, I am very single (or something like that… stay out by business ‘till I let you in it), I have been dealing with apartment stuff (crazy story that I can’t wait to tell you, cuz GIIRRRLLLAAA!), and I have been dealing with family stuff on top of trying to be there for friends and my all- around, general poor decision-making.
I guess I am kind of stressed. (See I am working on it.)
The thing is, stress shows itself in many different ways. It can appear as a zit, though weight-gain or -loss, depression, stroke, heart attack, anxiety. Anything, because what goes in must come out. So, as I am thinking about all of the stressors (inputs) I am left wondering how I am releasing (output)? No, I am not doing that… or I am, it ain’t none of your friend’s business mm, mm, damn, mmm!
But really, I need to pay better attention to how my body is reacting to what is going on around me. I need to identify the point where I should release stress so it doesn’t get to the point where it is presenting in my hair, my skin, and my weight. I don’t have an answer right now but I am looking. This morning’s freak-out was a wake-up call. I need to pay better attention to myself (self-love, self-care). You should too.
How is your stress presenting? Are you an over-eater? Do you eat like crap? Do you under-eat? Are you one who avoids the world and shuts-down? Are you 45 and look like a 14-year-old who refuses to wash his face and all but smears the grease from a slice of pizza on his face? Do you suffer from back pain? Are you the back pain? Stress is real and it shows.
As I plead the blood of Jesus over my edges for the next few weeks I will also be paying close attention to what my body is doing. I will be looking to notice how I am reacting under stress and how I am bottling it up. I will be looking to see my opportunities to release stress and reflecting on how and why I may have over-looked these chances in the past. I challenge you to do the same. Take stock of your life. What are your stress inputs? What are your opportunities for outputs? Why aren’t you taking them? How can we change what we are doing to become closer to our best selves? What do we need to be successful in this?
My Edges will be back!
