March 4, 2013 ~ Like a Tattoo

“Tattoos are a right of passage. They're a marker of bravery, of maturity, of cultural acceptance. The tattoo represents not only a willingness to accept pain - to endure it - but a need to actively embrace it. Because life is painful - beautiful but painful.......” - Nicola Barker, The Yips

Our bodies are filled with tattoos. While not all external, the tattoos of life have been injected into use and are forever a mark of our past, our present, and sometimes our future. While the beauty of tattoos can be amazing, sometimes the people of the world are too quick to try to leave a mark, as they find themselves only leaving an unalterable mark on their own lives. 

As the world has changed over time, the drive towards success and instant gratification have resulted in a generation who have tattooed life all over themselves, finding themselves unable to find space for anything new or regretting the tattoo that they must stare at everyday for the rest of their lives. A mark that serves are a reminder of something they one day want to forget. Something that they never wanted to reminded of. People change, things change; however, the tattoos will be forever.

Don't get me wrong, tattoos can be wonderful creations. A number of my friends have had beautiful images and designed tattoos, while a few others are the ones creating such beautiful work. Similarly, the tattoos of life, whether owned or created, are equally as beautiful. However, it is the push to understand the permanence of these marks that people sometimes fail to realize. 

Beyonce sang, "Tattoo your name across my heart" and Jordin Sparks also sang about tattoos, "like a tattoo, I'll always have you." As Sparks sang, it's true, you'll always have that tattoo. By deciding to making that tattoo, you'll always have the reminder of the day you made the mark and may one day wonder, why?

Much as in life, we must make that decision whether what we find and what we do is worth the permanency of it. While some are quick to rush into it, sometime are unwilling to make that commitment to doing so. Both can be fatal. I guess there is no formula, as each person is different. Some will wear the beautiful art as they walk around, while others may do everything necessary to hide the decisions of the past. While I don't necessarily believe that "the world is divided into two types of people, those with tattoos and those afraid who are afraid of tattoos," I do believe that "good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good." Before you make it forever in your life, just remember that the tattoo is forever and if you decide to delve into that permanence, you ensure that the mark you make is the quality of which you can live with forever. 

While I may never get an actual tattoo, I hope that the tattoos of life that I wear can be ones I wear with pride for the rest of my life.