I parted my hair down the middle today.

Two days ago, walking past Lululemon (a very expensive, but very chic workout wear store), I saw these words...

Do something today that scares you.

In the spirit of October's hallmark holiday, Halloween, that was the thrust of the window display. So this got me thinking. First, that not only should I do something each day that scares me, but secondly, that each month should have a focus. 

So, November.... Let's think... Well, Thanksgiving of course. And what's that about again? I'm having visions of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a pre-school field trip that involved dressing up as a pilgrim one day, and Indian the next (Native American rather, but at that point political correctness hadn't quite taken hold) and visiting the local grocery store (we were even on the news--I do remember that). 

Back to the point. Oh yes, so Thanksgiving has something to do with sharing, right? Or maybe it's as easy as this...giving thanks. 

Perfect, no problem. Giving thanks. But on top of that I need a challenge, I need to scare myself (even if I am a month too late), and so this is my proposition....

For this one month, challenge your idea of yourself. 

Example: I believe myself to be a tremendously bad cook. So, one day I might put on my Eiffel tower apron, channel my 1950's housewife, and dare to create a kitchen masterpiece that far exceeds my expectations.

We all hang on to these images of ourselves that then limit who we are. Who we might be.  I'm fat. I'm thin. I'm wealthy. I'm old. I'm immature. I'm an actor. I'm a banker. I only wear black. I never take the subway. I can't take photos. But we're so much more than a label that we, or anyone else can assign to us. I'm a democrat. I'm republican. Liberal, right-wing, black, white, conservative, tall, short, modest, moderate, hip, dowdy, southern, christian, catholic, jewish. Right. Wrong. We will never be able to know the full depths of who we are, or what we are capable of. We just need to go in search, to try new things, to attempt what others would never expect of us. 

So today, I parted my hair down the center. Sounds simple, right? Silly, even. But after 17 years of parting it to the right or to the left, this simple action created a crack and, like Alice, down the rabbit-hole I fell. Well, jumped. And it felt good, falling--liberating and exciting. And I'm hoping (and betting on the fact) that one crack yields another and another and another--until this surface that we all hide behind falls away to reveal images we never dreamt possible.

Because the thing is, as different as we all are, I imagine we have more connecting us than we care to admit. And as our nation embarks on an historic election, I think it's important that we remember that at the end of the day we all want the same thing. Peace and love and hope for a better future. And isn't that what the first Thanksgiving was all about? The Pilgrim's and Indian's realization that they had more in common than they first believed.

One of the first civilians into space said that all politicians should be forced to a trip to the moon so that they could turn around and see that the only borders that exist are the ones that man has created. 

It's one world we live in and it's about time we started giving it the kind of thanks it deserves.