The Henna Experiment: A Lesson In Absurdity

She was losing her hair and I was struggling to find a way to not focus on it. I had suggested that we try henna one afternoon thinking it would be a fun experiment to add a little creativity to the day. Sunshine immediately hesitated because she worried it might interfere with her chemo treatments but she did not dismiss the idea entirely. Instead we improvised with a marker and I ended up drawing on her bald head.

We spent the afternoon laughing at the absurdity of the whole ordeal. The cancer, the ‘henna’ and that bald head of hers. Every time I tried a design she would laugh and make a comment that reminded me that she would always be my teacher. The marker smudged easily and the designs were far from perfect but that did not matter at all. What mattered was the laughter the silliness and the way she could find joy in a simple ridiculous moment despite everything else going on in her life.

I remember looking at her head and seeing her smile and thinking how this was going to be a core memory that we would recount for years to come. She had this ability to turn even a small playful experiment into a memory that would stick with me long after the marker had washed off.

When I think about that afternoon I don’t remember the conversation or how we settled on the designs. I remember how present we were with each other how she embraced the silliness and how that simple moment became a story we would laugh about nearly 20 years later. It reminded me that joy does not require perfection it just requires presence a willingness to be playful… and someone to share the moment with.