Le Weekly #10 – Back Shampoo 🧼
One quote, one word, one story, one neigh from Philosophical Horse and one question.
Greetings everyone. Happy Monday!
Take a moment to reflect on each snippet. Comment your thoughts below.
Le Quote 🗣
“You need to know how to cook it.” – the man in the sauna (talking about Perlemoen).
Le Word 💬
cycle (noun). a series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order.
Le Shoutout 🧣
I spent some time in Greyton last week celebrating my dad’s 63rd birthday.
After a successful birthday dinner, we all slept well. The next morning, we woke up, put on our shoes and did our things.
I went for a run. My dad and the girls, Charlotte & Amelie, went for a cycle.
After returning from their cycle, the girls wanted to do an extra loop of a nearby mountain. My dad asked if I’d be keen to borrow his bike and join them. I said yebo.
I hadn’t mountain biked since 2015. The bike felt strange initially, but everything quickly fell into place.
We climbed a nearby hill, paused briefly at the top, and then soared down along a singletrack path, twisting and turning as we went.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Shoutout Tony Wright for 1) the 63rd birthday and 2) offering me his bike and, in turn, affording me a fun experience.
Le Story ✍️
On Saturday afternoon, I emailed someone asking for advice. I wanted to know how they shake off a sluggish and hazy mental state.
The four remedies they chose to share with me were:
Everything-Showers.*
Haircuts.
Long, lazy swims.
If all else fails, time. Partnering with the haze, letting it do what it came to do, has proven surprisingly fruitful in the past.
* The Everything-Shower is a simple concept. It’s a shower that consists of literally everything. Masking, exfoliating, shaving — you name it, it’s included. Unlike an ordinary shower, where the goal is to get clean, the Everything-Shower is more akin to an at-home spa session. (Prose.com).
Upon receiving the list, I was already on my way to the gym. My plan was to shower, sauna, and workout for an extended period of time. I considered suanering, gyming and showering as a makeshift mixture of points 1, 3 and 4.
The only thing missing from my itinerary was a haircut, so I decided to see if Mohammed was around.
Mohammed is a tall, well-built Palestinian man who runs a barbershop underneath the Claremont Virgin Active. We first met in the changing room a year ago when I mentioned that his cologne smelled very good. He told me it was from his home country before spraying some on my neck.
I digress.
While walking toward the barber shop, I saw Mohammad outside. However, upon closer inspection, it wasn’t Mohammad; it was his bigger, even more well-built brother, Abdul.
“Greetings”, I greeted.
Abdul gently took my hand and led me into the shop.
“You sit down,” he said, pointing to the open chair.
“Cool,” I said, and sat down.
I told him I trusted him to do what he thought my hair needed.
I closed my eyes as he cut my hair. I’ve never done this before, but I was trying to de-haze my mind. Every bit of my spirit went into acknowledging where I was and what was happening. Closing my eyes helped me feel and hear Abdul navigating my head with his large hands and tiny scissors.
I highly recommend doing this next time you get your hair cut.
“You can go wash hair now,” Mr Abdul said.
I opened my eyes and found my way to the basin. The hair-washing session started as it always starts:
“Water okay?” they ask.
“It’s perfect,” we say, regardless of the temperature.
The head massage was excellent; however, before the conditioner could be washed off, I received the instruction to “Please lean forward.”
Without any explicit warning (other than “please lean forward”), the head massage turned into a full-blown back massage. The head masseuse has somehow perfected the art of getting both hands down your shirt and massaging (quite effectively) your entire back without stretching your collar whatsoever.
After being flung around the basin station in perplexed chaos, I decided to accept the situation as usual. This was, after all, the Everything-Haircut I needed.
Eventually, I got released from the hands of my full-body hair washer feeling like a new person.
Back in the chair, Abdul blow-dried my hair, applied some wax and added his finishing touches.
He stood back, examined me, smiled and said, “You look beautiful”.
I chose to believe him.
Le Neigh from Philosophical Horse 🐴
“Neigh” – Philosophical Horse.
Le Question 🤔
What helps you feel beautiful? How often do you do it?
Have a great Monday, everyone!
Previous Newsletters:
(Remember to send this to someone who you think would enjoy Le Weekly)
#9 – Muscular Swallows 🐦
#8 – Long Wood 🪵
#7 – Impactful Leaf 🍃
#6 – Vulnerable Ankles 🦵
#5 – Sea Sea TV 📸
#4 – Treadmill Queue 💦
#3 – Lemonade 🍋
#2 – Meat Factory 🥩
#1 – Woolworths Maternitywear 👚
Beautiful!!
So good! Thoroughly enjoyed this weekly🤝👊