To Ink or Not To Ink?

You may lose your most valuable property through various ways. You may lose your house, your wife and other treasures. But of your moko (tattoo), you cannot be deprived except by death. It will be your ornament and companion until your last day. ~Netana Whakaari of Waimana

When I was growing up, tattoos were the purveyance of the 'not nice' component of society. They were for sailors and bikers and harlots. They were for the baudy, they slightly psychotic, the people with a chequered past, people you feared at some level. Today, tattoos are commonplace, so common that, except for the extemely inked person, they barely draw a glance. Except for the person with ink covering more than half the body, tattoos go almost unnoticed. Even the most inked person does not carry the stigma associated with the artform in my youth.

I have considered getting a tattoo at points in my life, considered expressing my individuality with a personal stamp of ink somewhere on my body. For various reasons, some rational, others irrational, I have never moved the idea from a considered thought to an actual needling of ink.

My biggest fear is probably terror of the needle. The fact the tattoos are done with needles, a needle that pierces they skin a multitude of times, gives me grave concern about being inked. This fear, most likely, falls into both the rational and irrational categories. My mother is a nurse and, as such, when we were sick as kids, she gave us shots. We were given shots because, to quote my mom, "the medicine get's into the bloodstream faster." Of course, as kids, we hated shots because, on top of already feeling crappy, we were getting a painful projectile stuck into our behinds. At times, I fought the needle so hard, my dad had to hold me down so she could administer the healing injection. The injections finally stopped when we kids would non longer tell her we weren't feeloing well.

 Another issue with tattoos is the body tends to sag with age. A butterfly tattoo on the breast may, over time, descend to the waist line looking like a colorful aardvark. And who want's an aardvark, no matter how colorful, permanently engraved on their body? I can't even imagine how horrid any artwork would look on a butt that swells, and sags, and becomes dimpled with fat as the years pass.

Over time, the stamp chosen may trigger painful memories instead of the good thoughts when it was originally imagined. For that reason, getting the name or picture of a person you are in a relationship with is on my list of really bad ideas. People may hurt you, betray you, discard you but the tattoo lasts until the grave. I wouldn't want to go through stuck with the name of an ex visible on my body.

All this being said, all my concerns aside, I am again entertaining the idea of getting inked. I have grown ideas for two tattoos. The first is a tattoo symbolic of my three kids. My eldest daughter once made me a nice design, a design capturing the essence of each of the three kids, but, in a fit of range, tore it up then chewed it up so I couldn't piece it back together. Something representing my three kids, and possibly my grandson, would be fitting because they are all dear to my heart and, no matter what happens, they will always be my kids. Not sure where this tattoo would best go on my body. However, I do know that it would be something I would want to be readily visible to me so that rules out my backside.

The other idea I have for ink is a saying that has come to symbolize my view on life. It's a saying on my RoadID, an emergency response bracelet I wear in the event I get hurt while riding my bicycle and cannot interact with someone trying to help me out. The quote is in addition to the names and numbers of my emergency contacts. It's something I purchased because most of my riding, both on road and off road, is done solo. The quote is:

Be the change you want to see in the world

The quote has been attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, a person who lived a life that I find to be admirable. While there is no authenticated record of him every uttering the exact phrasing, there are authenticated writings that can be distilled into the concept captured in those words. Whether uttered by Gandhi or not, I still have taken this quote as a vision for my life. I can see this quote on the underside of my left wrist as a frequent reminder of how I wish to live my remaining days, a person living an exemplary life.

Will I finally get a tattoo? Will I build up the courage and submit myself to the psychological scarring of a needle piercing my skin repeatedly? I don't know. Today, I am 50/50 for inking but that's also 50/50 for not inking.