Today, we dive right in to PoP 38 – practicing stillness and soulFULL pausing as we go! – for our vocational exploration on being “Hairdressers”. This collective vocational nudge invites you to look around and see what is in your life right now. Right here and right now.
What simple tools do you wield that can be shared easily with people around you—something that is connected to your job, your passion, or a way of reaching out to those around you that is easy, natural, and currently part of your everyday? Think about something for which you don’t need money, more training, or skills to be able to do. It’s something you just do, and it’s as easy as breathing.
As you sit with and explore this query, I have a hunch that the following story will inspire you. It is a tale of a global movement that began with a pair of hair-cutting scissors. This account of Joshua Coombes is jaw-dropping in its simplicity and comPAS- SION. Our extraordinary brother Joshua lives and works in the UK and fundamentally believes that small acts of love greatly matter. One day, he gathered the tools most natural and familiar to him (a stool, scissors, comb, and a razor), walked out the door of his salon in London, and began offering free haircuts to homeless people on his streets.
Joshua speaks about the roots of this committed and inspired action:
“Hairdressing is how I communicate with people, but anybody, no matter who you are, can do some- thing for nothing, make a difference in your own way. The cool thing, this can be our response to some of the world’s problems. Our voice, our hands, our smile are one step away from restoring somebody’s hope in humanity.”
We all have tools to wield in the world akin to those of Joshua’s hairdressing scissors that are simple and have the power to be a part of restoring hope in humanity. This is the stuff that adds ceaseless strength to the fabric of life. This is the stuff of significance and belonging. It cultivates and reveals your unique purpose on the planet.
This movement started with Joshua seeing the homeless on his streets as people and looking at the tools he had at his disposal right then and there. He connected the dots of need and his gifts. Joshua shares that it was the nagging questions and his own sense of powerlessness that ultimately nudged him to begin.
Overwhelm didn’t stop him. His destiny and next steps—just like yours—resided right next to his feelings of helplessness. He found the gold in the very place of discomfort. The struggles of homelessness around him did not deter him, but propelled him.
As he walked, one step at a time, day after day, Joshua began capturing the attention of those around him. One by one, others have joined him. When two changemakers with gifts in compelling cultural “storymaking” (entrepreneur, Dave Burt, and musician, Matt Spracklen) heard about what he was up to, they reached out to Joshua. These three gelled—they clicked. They began to do together what they could not have done solo. They now call themselves a band of brothers and have started a global campaign called #DoSomethingForNothing. They say that this movement is fundamentally about linking influencers around the world through social media, spreading love around the world, and connecting the haves with the have nots.
Today, Joshua is in the salon less and traveling around the world more, speaking about this mighty global campaign with simple roots in his own backyard. Joshua’s path has been uncharted and unplanned. But, one step and leap at a time, it has grown far beyond where it was when he started on the day he picked up his hairdresser’s tools and walked out his door to offer a free haircut.
In the face of such epic problems … start here.
See your helplessness, your overwhelm.
Don’t be deterred, but be propelled
by the things that seem bigger than you.
Don’t wait for someone else with more skills, more money,
more _____ (fill in the blank with the thoughts that stop you from acting), to do something.
Start where you are with what you have and make your way.
You can iterate, change, morph over time.
But starting is the key.
Your steps will lead to unplanned places.
It is always so.
Get to stepping.
There is no stopping, no end,
no limit to the possibilities available when we start and carry on, together.
BE Still. Surrender.
Helplessness and overwhelm.
Excitement and possibility.
Worry and anxiety.
Strategizing and thinking.
Set these and any other thoughts aside that are floating or bombarding.
Let them go.
Soften. Gently smile.
Inhale and exhale big and fully. Breathe.
Just breathe.
BE.
Just BE.
Stay here and BE.
Ponder. Go Deeper.
What tools do you have that you can pick up and share with ease and joy? What does it look like and who are you serving? Who are you working with … or are you on your own? This is such an important invitation, dear friend. It’s for you. Take it in and pay attention to what thoughts and ideas come to you within this story that connects to your story, your life, here and now.
Engage. Commit.
Hop online and explore the #DoSomethingForNothing campaign. Watch some of their stirring videos. Take one nugget that inspires you and do something about it today: explore, play, act.
For a guided Place of Pause (PoP), check out this PDF reading from Soulfully Ablaze, the video below about today’s PoP, or the complete video series (all are free) of 10-minute PoPs.
Given the state of our world – the Corona virus pandemic, school and work closures, challenges to global markets and personal paychecks – we must take a few moments to BE still and to pause. These days, more than ever, there has been much clamoring for our attention 24-7 with LOUD, FEAR-based, PANIC-inducing messages – but let’s practice peace, together, amidst these stormy days. I share these PoPs so you can FILL UP with peace and navigate this wild and crazy season with strength and courage.
My love is with and for you, my friend. Have a most blessed and beautyFULL day!
xo, -Sarah DT ❤️
