By far, thus far, she is seldom to one’s dark and cloudy moods that sometimes threaten to shadow the sunshine within her movements. Daily in her life, as a woman she is often caught by eyes focused on features most fair to them.
Karen Pringle, a solo parent of one resides in Cloquet, MN. Self-employed as a massage therapist for Essential Touch, Pringle’s strenuous profession hardly allows hair neglects to befall her. During, and after administering physical therapy to bodies longing for pain retreats, Pringle’s lengthy brown hair is wrapped neatly in a ponytail. A reddish glow is correspondent to rays of light, even in cold climates. Professional courtesy combined with caretaking of clients. Hair displayed not just from leisure, but purpose.
"The hair is the linkup to the Jah Connection for healing.” she explains. “As a conduit and as a healer it facilitates my ability to deliver healing.” Karen Pringle is forever dedicated to the Jamaican roots of Rastafarian culture since she was a young adult. She further explained to me regarding the use and purpose of her hair, “Basically in African Mysticism, the spiral, the curl is the connection and linkup to the divine.”
Pringle’s entrances and even exits in social circles quickly capture an eye followed by more as she greets friends and colleagues. They each grasp both sides of her hair harnessed upon her shoulders, gleaming in the light. “It is the crown of my energetic being.”
In the sanctity of her home, its very strands shift from numerous sections stemmed from her mind, yet stance with motherhood: Raising a son, paid bills in timely fashion, pet care, and hands focused on weary bodies before a good night's sleep. Only the precipitance of air dictates the direction of its flow.
I, myself, have felt this, past, and present.
An Afro, a short cut, perm, a blended bald fade, a shaved head, and long neatly woven corn rowed French Braids all spoke to specific events in my life.
When asked what it means for her as a mom, she responded, "It carries the memories from my son's childhood and tending the home. As hair contains our memories just like cutting it gives us a fresh start."
The Book of Judges in the Bible foretold of a man whose long hair was his strength source, Samson. A fairytale was once foretold of a young woman whose uncommon hair size is used as a rope access for her lover, Rapunzel. In Rastafarian roots and culture, "dreadlocks" are often seen as strength.
In fashion, eyes expect style upon stride congruent to clothing. However, our minds no matter how far they drift away in distances, we see only one direction as we stand in the reflection from a mirror.
