One of the more obvious moments during anyone’s natural hair journey is the ability to become inspired by the numerous pictures, blogs and photo logs we stumble upon daily. As the days and years let on, there continues to be ample amounts of visual inspiration across the web. And just as easy it is to ingest all of these gorgeous images…eventually we do find ourselves on the receiving end, becoming our own source of inspiration not only for ourselves but for those around us.
This is something that’s not relative to hair length, curl pattern, texture, but more so to do with the best qualities of ourselves we often hide away until someone else plucks it out from obscurity. But what happens when we are away from our keyboards and favorite Tumblr sites, out in the real world encountering fellow naturals? How many of us reserve our best compliments for the face staring in front of the mirror rather than the floods of women we greet on a day to day?
What I’ve found truly remarkable in celebrating another woman’s developing sense of self, is the natural beauty that is also reflected within each of us. In the circle of the natural hair community, we often call this Sisterhood, a camaraderie that can only be nurtured if it is practiced and passed on. While I don’t feel that we are in any danger of losing out on all the perks of belonging to such a valuable circle, it’s great…if not absolutely essential, to have markers along the way reminding us just how valuable our contribution truly is.
There’s a hidden prowess in daring ourselves to speak up and acknowledge the woman standing next to us. For some it might take courage, and with this I say try. Still give a little go when uncertainty still feels a little too familiar, and fear of rejection or *side eyes*silences our ability to speak. There is a great campaign brewing over at Love Brown Sugar where CeCe has tapped into something similar. The challenge is to #UPLIFT those, particularly women, by offering up a smile, a word of encouragement in hopes of squashing this invisible wall some of us build up to ward off negativity or uncertainty.
I encourage you all to stop over, read some of the comments…but also step out into the real world to celebrate, practice and become inspired.
