Reason #10: dreadlocks are the stuff of legend

Locked hair is deeply rooted in in myth and legend.  Did you know that . . .

• . . . the sacred river Ganges flows through Shiva's locks, so that they might regulate it?  The goddess Ganga brings her flow to earth through Shiva's tangled masses of hair, which can also be seen as its flow down the forested slopes of the Himalayas.
• . . . Samson, the Israelite who slew a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, derived his immense strength from his seven locks of hair?  The Nazirite vow 

Based on how they were depicted, it's reasonable to argue that Kokopelli, Isis, and Medusa wore their hair in locks, as well, which is pretty much what I suspected.  There's even some speculation that Jesus couldn't have wandered in the desert for three years without conditioner and without knotting up.  Clearly they have been respected for their power and mystery for thousands of years, and I can do worse than to carry that kind of tradition on my shoulders.

I dreaded this: the cat's out of the bag

Well I mentioned to a friend and business associate that I have plans for my hair, and now the world knows.  The mention included sharing the link to this blog with her on Twitter, and, social networking what it is, seeing it retweeted and posted on Facebook.

Samson, who had "seven locks of hair"

So in truth I'm thinking six people know, and maybe one of them actually knows me.  My secret isn't exactly safe, but it's secure it obscurity.

You may wonder why, if I wish to be private, I would choose to blog about this process on a platform owned by Google.  Or why I wouldn't pick a hobby that's a little bit less visible than transforming my hair into "locks like snakes."

I'm actually not trying to keep it secret (hence telling my social networking diva friend), but I do enjoy watching the process unfold slowly and build momentum.  The more people knowing and reacting the more I will have to write, but I don't want to just announce my intentions on CNN or anything because then it will feel forced, like adding too much buttermilk to the moss garden.

Fun fact:  locking hair makes it shorter, but it has the potential to be much longer than straight hair can be.  This is because it doesn't let the hairs that shed fall away, so the lock length is not limited by the maximum hair length your body can produce.