“Do you want to see it from behind?” the haircutter asked, holding the mirror up so I could see the back of my head.

“I don’t even like it in front,” I told her.

“What do you mean? It looks great all around. You look hot.”

“C’mon. I look like a gnome,” I responded.

It was a bad haircut. It happens to the best of us; but it’s never fun to be on the receiving end of your haircutter’s hangover.

She stood over me, scissors in hand, trying to figure out her next move. I just looked at myself, wondering if I could somehow altar my wardrobe to suit this new look. Possibly, if I could incorporate some mesh, eye shadow and Virginia Slims cigarettes, I could make it work.

Of course, justifying Virginia Slims to the yoga community, let alone my wife, would be a stretch.

“What’s a gnome?” the haircutter asked.

“Have you ever seen those SkyMall magazines on the airlines? They sell these small humanoid statues you can put in your garden for decoration. Those are gnomes,” I muttered under my breath.

Later that evening when my wife got home, she looked as if I’d presented her with a hairless cat (it’s called a Donskoy) or a nibbling gerbil.

“No f*cking way” was all she said.

“The haircutter screwed up,” I told her.

“First of all, it’s not called a haircutter, it’s called a stylist. Second of all, who do you think you are, Prince Valiant?

“Prince Valiant looks better than a gnome,” I told her.

“What’s a gnome?” she asked, reaching for her phone to get me an appointment with a new stylist.

******

This wasn’t the first time I had a haircut.

In fact, I had a bad hair era (85-88). I spent those years chasing cool, pursuing popularity, trying to fit in. That’s a mistake to never make twice.

This bad haircut came at just the right time, as if the Universe was giving me a little reminder.

Over the past year, there has been a clique forming in the wellness world. There are people with huge followings joining forces and putting together big events.

I admire what they are doing and emailed about being included.

I got zero response.

But I felt intuitive alarm bells ringing in my ears: “Been there, done that. Wake up!”

Can you relate? Is there something exclusive going on in your world?

Maybe it’s trying to get your kids into the fancy school?

Or maybe it’s trying to figure out how you can teach at the “prestigious” yoga conference?

Or maybe it’s trying to afford a home in the “better” neighborhood?

Lesson learned: a bad day (or bad haircut) need not be a bad era.

If it feels like life is passing you by, let it go! Why walk in someone’s else’s footsteps when you can walk down your own awesome path.

The Grateful Dead sing it perfectly in the song Ripple:

There is a road, no simple highway

Between the dawn and the dark of night,

And if you go no one may follow,

That path is for your steps alone.

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Ed: Sara Crolick