The significance of tattoos

At different stages of life, people get tattoos for different reasons .  Maybe you have some yourself that echo your own learning curve or act as memorials to loved ones.  Maybe you contemplate getting one to recognize a milestone, personal revelation or life change.  Maybe you know someone who has tattoos or have seen images of them on people you admire.  Even if tattoos do not appeal to you at all, your response to them reveals a lot about yourself.

Notice which tattoo symbols stop you in your tracks.  Which emotions do they elicit? What is this really telling you? Is it the prospect of permanence , a distubing fear or anger that surfaces?

Much like symbols in your night dreams, tattoo symbols that capture attention invite you to be aware of the nature of your judgment and the underlying reasons for it.  Notice whether you assume only 'certain kinds of people' get tattoos, whether tattoos evoke painful memories of suffering for you or whether they turn you off for other reasons you are not yet accepting. 

Notice also who you spend the most time with.  How you feel about tattoos is like an invitation to grow mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. You are better able to do so when surrounded by people who accept you for who you are and who support your evolving choices.

Anything that evokes emotion silently draws attention to love.  Sometimes getting tattoos is a call for love, a gesture of love, an effort to restore balance or to express love.  Even that which has little or no appeal to you echoes your state of mind and state of being.  Peace and tranquility are ever-present.  Everything you do or do not points toward them.  This goes without saying.

“Everyone has secrets. It's just a matter of finding out what they are.”  -Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Comments

[Keya]

Very thought provoking post. I have thought that only "certain" people get tattoos, but now that you mention it I think I have resistance to the whole idea of having one. I personally just can't get over the idea of not being able to change my body if and when I want to. Maybe I do think people that get them are calling out for attention or some other reason that I view as negative. Thanks for drawing attention to this. It really is the everyday things in life that help us uncover and expose our judgements.

[Renee Smith]

My son came to me when he was 18 and stated emphatically that he was getting a tattoo, it should have not taken me by surprise as his graduation gift to himself was a parachute jump. His tattoo is his animal totem, the coyote. It covers his left arm from elbow to shoulder but is easily hidden under a tee shirt sleeve. He loves it. His peers approve. This is his own private expression of self. He's a student at Berkeley now and brilliant and will someday be an amazing high school teacher. I'm so proud of him!

[Liara Covert]

Keya, so glad to hear that this article invites you to notice something new about yourself. Every moment invites you to be more observant and recognize that we each create how we think and feel as well as what we believe. We are each invited to live life in as much joy as we possibly can. As we begin to see our attitudes, assumptions and judgments, and trace them back to whatever creates them, we are empowered to let go of whatever we outgrow.

[Liara Covert]

Renee, appreciate your tattoo story about your son. Love the positive emotions. To love someone unconditionally, regardless of his life choices, sends a powerful , encouraging message. That is, one's external identity is only ever pointing toward that which is silent.