The Tao of Tattoo
Tyler Martina
The Tao of Tattoo
Have you ever heard that tattoos are addicting?
People say once you get inked for the first time before it is even completed healed you are planning on what to get tattoo to get next.
Why is this?
Why are tattoos like the potato chips of individualism? “Bet you can’t have just one!”
The answer may lay in the “Tao”, and more specifically the “Tao of Tattoo”.
Life is about balance. Not too big, not too small. Not too soft, not too hard. Not too hot, not too cold. And so on. You get the idea.
Just like Goldilocks and the three bears, we are always searching for what is just right for us. That which helps us to stay balanced.
When we are in balance everything seems to flow. Like water in a stream, we can easily conform to our environment, we maneuver around obstacles, and nothing can stop us.
Then there are the times we are out of balance. These are the the times that everything feels a bit “off”. You can’t put your finger on it, but your flow seems to be impeded. You feel the need to center yourself and find your balance point.
The circle of life. Finding and maintaining balance. Continually growing and adjusting your center, ensuring that everything flows as smoothly as possible.
This applies to all aspects of life. Mental, physical, and spiritual.
The human body is symmetrical, as is the human mind and soul. However, things happen throughout our lives that throw off this symmetry, and we need to proactively take steps to balance it in each area, and as a whole.
Tattoos can help us achieve this.
When we have a highly emotional experience, whether it be from joy or pain, we can commemorate it with a tattoo on our body. This tattoo helps us balance our emotional state with a counter weight on our physical body, in turn creating that balance we have been seeking.
Over time as we experience more that balance begins to shift again and find ourselves searching out our next tattoo.
We look at our first tattoo on our shoulder and think “Hey, that other shoulder looks a little lonely.” We then go to the tattoo shop and make them match. We “balance” our physical appearance.
Then we commemorate another experience and the cycle begins again, over and over again. Counter weighting and balancing. Writing the story of our lives on our bodies. Creating a masterpiece of memories, experiences, trials, and more on our bodies.
This is the Tao of tattoo.
When you get your first tattoo remember that they do become addicting. Just like a canvas splashed with paint that begs to be painted, so to with your body.
Go with the flow, keep centered, and continue to learn, grow, and create. Create your story, your masterpiece. Never stop living, and never stop adding.
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