My 30-day Experiment with Creative Freedom involved immersing myself in Bengali culture and toying with a new look. 

In this video, Ibrahim and I visit a local barber shop. It was about a different haircut and shave experience than I was traditionally used to, about expanding my comfort zone. 

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Don’t hesitate to take the leap, embrace risks, and accept your imperfections. Remember, creativity isn’t solely about producing something extraordinary; it’s also about the process, journey, and growth accompanying it. For me, it’s about trying out a new look. 

Oh yeah, I know what you’re saying. ” Hey man, it’s only a haircut.” But this was not just a shave and trim but a creative expression.

Although Bangladesh is a poor country, predominantly Islamic, its young men take great pride in looking dapper.

Don’t fall into the stereotypical belief that Muslim beards are all large and unkempt. Untamed beards are okay but not always the norm. According to the Sunnah tradition followed by all the prophets, including the final Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), a Muslim beard should be extended, neat, and outlined.

Back home, I had fallen into a rut and, quite frankly, did not care about a good pampered ‘quaff’ (haircut and beard trim).  

In the end, it’s ONLY hair. Looking back over the last two decades, I’ve sported countless whimsical looks. I’m not trying to be a chameleon but simply having fun expressing whatever life phase I face (pun intended).

Besides, messing with makeup and jewelry, as my more gender-fluid counterparts do, is a tad beyond my comfort zone (except on Halloween). 

Plus, the temporary state of any appearance reminds us of mortal impermanence. ‘Hair today, gone tomorrow.’ –eh!

It’s essential to maintain a well-groomed beard to create a positive impression.

By comparison, a good beard trim in Toronto is not cheap. In Bangladesh, you can get a fantastic haircut for a few bucks. The guy will massage your neck and back, giving you a good old-fashioned trim.

I find all iterations of a Muslim beard kind of hot! Perhaps the rebel in me prefers not to look like my clean-cut Christian past.

Or is it because I found most wild bearded men I’ve met fascinating?

Or it could be that I’ve over-embraced my heartfelt affiliation with Islam and my newfound Muslim Brotherhood. — There is a proud connection happening on my end.

I will shave when Ibrahim gets his Tourist Visa.

My 63rd Birthday saw me looking more like a self-imposed homeless man than a desired silver fox. 

2022-23 were frustrating years of painful, expensive, unreasonable and unnecessary Visa delays for Ibrahim’s journey to finally live with me courtesy of Canada’s Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) dysfunction. 

Related: Why You Must Speak Truth to Power When Painfully Denied a Tourist Visa

In the final months of our battle with the Visa Masters, I committed not to cut or trim until Ibrahim was granted a well-deserved Visa. 

Not trimming was a heartfelt, naive protest (no one cared) and a ‘significant-other’ solidarity move that comforted Ibrahim and me somewhat. If you must suffer, then I will suffer, I thought.  

One only appreciates a man’s beard once it is professionally trimmed.  

Ultimately, Ibrahim was granted his Canadian Visa, and I shaved ten years off my appearance.