New Year Musing: Honouring the Ordinary

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The Hair Cut - Vida Gabor (1937 - 1999) - Hungary
The Hair Cut - Vida Gabor (1937 - 1999) - Hungary

This painting came my way almost by chance. Someone in another group shared it, asking for general views. I looked at it without any particular intention — and yet, as the year draws to a close, it seemed to carry exactly the right note. A reminder of how, at times, meaning arrives unannounced.

In Vida Gabor’s The Hair Cut, nothing of consequence appears to be happening. A boy sits still. A barber stands close, scissors held mid-air, fully absorbed in his work. Light enters quietly, touching the floor, the walls, the working hands. There is no drama, no gesture reaching beyond the moment. And yet, the scene holds attention.

 There is something the painting seems to say — and call it serendipity that it has come to us at just the right time, as we stand at the threshold of a new year. If we explore what it is that holds our attention, it is the trust the painting places in the ordinary. The barber is not made heroic, nor is the child sentimentalised. It is simply a small, everyday act being done with care. The dignity comes not from the subject, but from the sincerity with which it is treated.

 We notice the copious detail in the painting, yet what quietly draws us in is the sense of industry — the dignity of labour, the working hands. The barber’s shop is run down; the floor bears dents, spots, and marks of long use. The apparatus is basic. Even the boy’s shoe, fallen slightly aside, shows a hole in its sole, caught in the arc of light. Perhaps the artist is gently pointing us towards something through these details.

 Maybe the suggestion is simple: that life goes on, and that external conditions matter less than we imagine. What truly lies in our hands is honest work done with full attention.

 Much of our unease comes from believing that meaning must be earned through the exceptional. Yet, at this stage of life, most of it unfolds in quiet, ordinary moments like this one. The painting offers no sense of urgency, no push towards change. Time here is unhurried, allowed to unfold naturally. It reminds us that the year ahead need not be conquered or reshaped, but lived — one honest moment at a time.

 So, as the new year begins, this painting offers a modest but reassuring thought: that simplicity, honesty, and care in the ordinary may matter far more than striving for the extraordinary. Sometimes, trusting what is already in our hands is enough.

You may also want to read my piece on:  Christmas Story!

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