Loc Update: The Art of the Process…

October 11th, 2007

It was one of the most basic principles we know and yet I had to be reminded of it. A seed is planted, then carefully nourished, and steadily grows. A business is booming- after years of tossing around an idea, a plan was developed and promoted. A superstar basketball player enjoys the sweet taste of victory; the crowd watched in awe as he played the best game of his life. Although he made the game look so easy, the player knew that his talent was not overnight, it was a process, a gradual discovery of discipline. His game was perfected over time. We reap what we sow.

The above mention accounts share one valuable characteristic in common with my locs. As my loctician explained to me the locking growth process, in my mind it clicked: they grow from the roots.

Now that may seem counter-intuitive to most of you, but as I began thinking about why I was experiencing certain issues (itching, fuzziness, dryness, insecurity) I was reminded that they are products of how they were trained and maintained.

If I forget to tie my hair down at night or neglect to keep my locs separated, I must live with the results. After all, I grew them.

On the other hand, when I get my locs tightened regularly (or maintain them myself), or give my scalp a good shampoo and condition it well, I reap the outcome. The effort I put in, I get out.

Now to my point. Why haven’t I written about my locs in more than a month? I was busy growing them (truth be told I was busy getting comfortable with them and deciding whether or not to cut them).

For the month of September, I was pre-occupied confronting the answer to, “how would I feel if I did let them go?” Let them go as in NOT let them grow and cut them out.

The answer was neither immediate nor easy. So unlike picking up a workout regimen where I left off or finishing that book I never found time to read, I came to the conclusion that cutting my locs without fair chance would be much more personal and much more painful.

Ultimately, I let them grow. And I committed to give the process more time.

What I learned from this decision-packed month was a little nugget of a lesson that I am also applying to situations with my family, friends, YS, other parts of my life, “Give it a chance, nurture it, let it un-obstructively grow because your action (or lack there of) will make you commitment level crystal clear”- your decision should appropriately follow.

(After I finished writing this piece, I did something that was about a week overdue- I washed my hair, then spent all of 3+ hours re-twisting it. Here are shots of the process and my commitment to give my locs time, enjoy)

I washed them… (this was a huge decision because my locs were gonna blow out!)