The last time I felt an electric razor glade over my head was close to 3 years ago. That day I left the old me in that barber shop and became a new person. I had embarked on a path that I wouldn’t truly understand for a while but it would reveal itself ever so amazingly and I would learn to be one with my newly found path. I would embrace it and immerse myself in it unsparingly. That day the world changed for me, that day I became a Rasta.

You see the essence of Rasta is true and like I mentioned before it’s not a concept one can immediately understand. Yea, sure, I was letting my hair grow, my peers were intrigued by the bold step I had decided to take. At 1st many of them thought it was just a phase, like everything else I had done with my hair before and to be completely honest, back then in 2012, I thought it was a joke too. A subtle form of rebelling per se and I was totally ok with that. My folks saw it in the same light and we were all absolutely ok with that. I never once thought I would become so aware of this soon to be “life choice” I had taken.

Almost a year into the new me and I was about to begin a new journey.

Life in a tertiary institution. Everything was new. The freedom, meeting new people, making new friends; the ability to think for myself as well as be responsible for each and every action I took and needless to say the abundance of fun related activities at my disposal.

BLISS !!! I was to follow up in this experience and make the most of it all.

My hair significantly took shape in my first year and it began to grow at an alarming rate. I had a system I used to measure it. I’d use my palm, measuring my hair from the tip of my forky finger to wherever it would reach on the base of my palm. Pretty creative huh ? …lol – I don’t think so. The only reason I never used a ruler was because the money to buy one had been so delicately spent on supporting the local pubs and night clubs in my area. I kept serious tabs on my progress and it was all so fulfilling to see the growth and the strides my hair was making over such a short period of time.

At about the time my locks were covering half my palm and they were no longer just odd looking things on my head, I also began to realize the potent effect they were having on my life. I actually began to consider myself a Rastafarian somewhat. That came with being a person of a peaceful demeanor and nature. I would pride myself on never once being in an altercation with any one person. I would enjoy spreading nothing more than wise words when I dared to open my mouth in conversation. I became a full time herb smoker. The elevation that marijuana brought to my cognitive state was one out of this world. I don’t want to say everything I am today is because of it, but I can tell you for a fact, the plant has played a significant role in opening up my mind to the avenues it wonders about these days.

A symbol of life.

You see hair is dead matter but there couldn’t be one more alive substance on my being. The last 3 years of my life, which have been the most exhilarating years I have lived, are entwined in my hair. I like to think all the smiles I have shared, all the tears I have held back, all the stories I can share, all the journeys I have travelled and all the lessons I have learnt are tightly locked within my hair.

You see why they call them dread ‘locks’ – because with every twist and every inch gained, your life is locked in them and you carry all that with you everywhere you go for as long as you carry on the Rasta path. The past, the present and the future are in my hair and I wear my life on my head.

While thinking about this article and doing some “research” for it I stumbled upon a quote from a great Rastafarian and I’ll just leave this with you for food for thought:

“Life and Jah(God) are one in the same. Jah is the gift of existence. I am in some way eternal. I will never be duplicated. The singularity of every man and woman is Jah’s gift. What we struggle to make of it is our sole gift to Jah. The process of what that struggle becomes, in time, is the Truth” – Bob Marley

Peace, Love & Happiness | KamzThxPxpe