We all have grandparents or for the most part have seen someone with a head full of gray hair. Some of us younger folks, chuckle at the thought that someday our hair may do the same. Others are determined to make sure their hair never turns gray. However, this past weekend I learned quite a bit about those silver strands that grow beautifully on older folk’s heads.
I am in my mid-twenties and have never really wondered about gray hair. I admired the men and women who choose not to dye their hair, to hide the gray. However, I never decided if I would do the same someday. Also at this point of my life, why should I even care about those little gray hairs? Well for the women in my life, those shiny or dull silver strands represent a lifetime of experience. That lifetime of experience is called wisdom. In my opinion, for every strand of gray on someone’s head, a life-long lesson has been learned. The sooner the lesson is learned, the earlier the gray hair arrives. Some experiences are traumatic, and cause patches of gray hair to appear in younger folks. However, with age comes wisdom.
I say that, because I shared a five day four night getaway, with women 40 years and older. Now, I am quite mature for my age, so I was able to hang out with the 40 year olds and I enjoyed myself. However, for those women, who were 60 and older, those gray hairs seemed to gleam upon their heads. It was as if a greater power laid hands on them, rewarding them with silver. Their stories were fulfilling, inspiring and caused me to look at my life differently.
Every story they shared was in some form of a lesson, whether it was getting over guilt, forgetting the past, forgiving themselves or others. It made me wonder about when I stumble, un-knowingly upon that gray hair age bracket, will my hair shimmer with wisdom? Will my hair become a tell-tale sign that I have experienced almost everything life has to offer? Was I able to help my sisters and children throughout my life? Did I encourage, inspire or influence anyone to do better than I? Right now, all I can say is that I am looking forward to it.
In just five days, I learned the meaning and reasoning behind those gray hairs. I still do not know if the look is for me, and I believe I have a couple of decades ahead of me, before I see any on my head. Then again, I feel like a 40 year old in a 26 year olds body. Maybe those grays will come sooner than I think, but it will definitely not hinder my learning process.
Photo Credit: Marcel Oosterwijk, Old couple, October 10, 2009