Category: Journey of 1865 Days

Everyone Has Their Zihuatanejo

Heads-up: In case you’ve been waiting all this time for the 20th anniversary to come around in order to watch it, this post contains spoilers for The Shawshank Redemption.

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Zihuatanejo is a small coastal city that sits along the Gulf of Mexico. I can’t say for sure but I think that it may be most famous as the sanctuary for one of the greatest prison breaks in cinematic history. For those of you who don’t know the town or the movie reference (or just need a refresher) it’s from The Shawshank Redemption. This movie was released nearly twenty years ago and still seems to resonate with people today. While a movie about a man in prison may not immediately seem relatable, it does seem to hold some universal truths about hope, friendship and overcoming adversity.

I’ve always admired that enviable freedom of spirit that Andy Dufresne has, it just seems to flow out of the screen to the viewer. Even after he is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he never looses hope in the beauty of life, despite one injustice after another. Sometimes it can be hard to live that way, letting go of the bad can be tough when it seems to have an internal grip on you. That’s part of what makes Andy so easy to root for, you don’t want to see the darkness get in and take ahold of this hopeful man.

It’s later in the movie when, by every outward impression, it appears that our hero has given in and is broken. Of course, we learn this is not the case and our champion of spirit has been harboring a secret.

Giving Myself Permission To Stop (And Start)

There’s just something about setting goals that I really enjoy. The potential of what could be is intoxicating. A few years ago I made a list of all the things that I enjoy doing with the intention of doing each of them throughout the year. By the time I was done, the list was long…really long. For a brief moment I was overwhelmed and a little sad as I sat looking at the lengthy scroll, full of things that I couldn’t possibly get done in just one, wee-little year. Le sigh.

Ever the glass-half-full kind of gal, I rethought my predicament and realized that I was planning on living for many, many more decades (more on that later) and I actually had plenty of time to do all the things! Just not in one year. I decided to approach it like any other to-do list, one activity at a time. I’d pick something, master it, and move on. Thus, “The Year Of ___________” was born. Every year on my birthday I pick a new theme for my year and I go for it. I immerse myself in it and give myself permission to let other hobbies and interests take a temporary backseat. It’s wonderfully fulfilling and liberating.

Giving Thanks: Keeping it Simple

My gratitude story.

‘Tis the season for giving thanks. It’s about taking a moment to stop and look around you with the specific intention of being grateful – and sometimes I need the reminder. I get so caught up in goal setting and goal accomplishing and I tend to neglect being grateful for all of the wonderful, little things that have already happened.

I also feel like there can be an inherent pressure in giving thanks. As though I must be deeply profound when declaring gratitude. Is a simple, “thank you for a good hair day,” enough? I also worry that I’m not being grateful often enough. Some people write five things per day, others don’t do any at all. I know that I want to be somewhere in the middle but who has the time?

“When A Haircut, Isn’t Just A Haircut”

I once read that you carry the memory and knowledge of your life’s journey in your hair. Up until recently, I had the journey of 1,865 days in my hair.

I sat in the salon chair with the stylist standing behind me, her left hand holding the 12-inch ponytail, her right hand holding the scissors, poised just above the hair-tie. She asked one more time, “Are you ready?” I answered without hesitation, “Yes”. This