I have been a pacifist all my life.It has always been in my nature, but within the last couple of years, I've explored my reasons for this, and developed more defined guidelines to live by. I have found that letting go of anger, and embracing love for everyone around me has allowed me to have a love for myself that I never thought possible. It has changed me into someone I am proud to be.
At A Glance Author Analise Contact Analise@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Furmin Studio Boo's Tattoo Location Idaho Falls, ID A few months ago I was browsing through tattoo images on BME, and I stumbled across a tattoo of the sanscrit word 'Ahimsa', which means: The principle of non-injury to living beings. The girl with the tattoo got it in the context of representing her vegetarian lifestyle, but I was intrigued. After some research, I came across some quotes by Gandhi on the subject. He said that we should embrace ahimsa not only in our actions, but in our thoughts and words as well. I instantly felt a connection. Finally, a word for the principle I'd been applying to my life. I have always been the type of person that tries to express myself outwardly through my appearance, and this was something I knew I wanted to share. This would be the perfect image for my next tattoo. I spent the next month or so thinking about where I would put the tattoo, and changing my mind about a million times. I finally settled on a chestpiece with the sanscrit and some flowers, and it was time to make the appointment!
The artist my fiancee and I go to is usually booked out about a month and a half in advance, so I had a lot of time to worry about how much it was going to hurt. Because this was my first 'major' tattoo project, and on a pretty bony and tender area, I worried a lot. But when the day of the appointment finally came, I was surprisingly calm. I chatted a bit with the apprentice at the shop while the appointment before mine was being finished up, and he told me that he'd heard the chest was the most painful place to get tattooed, which didn't really help my nerves any. But before I had a chance to dwell on that too long it was my turn! Furmin brought out the transfer, and after a few adjustments we were ready to start tattooing. I sat down in the chair and braced myself for what I thought was going to be the worst hour and a half imaginable.
The outline was hardly painful. There were a couple spots under my collar bone where it tickled! Hardly what I expected, but a pleasant surprise.The color was a little bit worse, but not unbearable. Over my sternum was the most sensitive area, but I could feel the vibration of the needle down through my body, and I think that helped to take the focus away from most of the sting. ad of traditional black lettering, he did a gradient from black to purple to pink at the top. There are about 5 or 6 colors, and every one of those hurt a little more than the last one. Even with that the pain was very manageable. I won't say it didn't hurt, but I was not the squirmy, crying mess I thought I'd be. Simple breathing and relaxation exercises were enough to help me lay still. The very last color was the most painful, right under my collar bone, and over top of already tattooed skin, but he was done with that soon enough that it wasn't a big deal.
All of that took my hour and a half appointment, or close enough. My fiancee was on the way for his appointment, and we decided that outlined flowers would look better than half-colored until I can get in there again. So I stood up and looked in the mirror and was blown away! In the month between when I scheduled the appointment and went in, I tried to picture several times how the tattoo would look. The tattoo I was looking at was so much better than anything I had imagined! I was giddy! Then the saran wrap went on. I was instructed to wash it after about an hour and use Aquaphor to protect it for about the next week while it healed. It's been pretty sore the last couple of days, but that is starting to go away now (the third day).
I got my first tattoo when I was 18, and I remember feeling so cool afterward, so I expected a similar reaction this time. But I look in the mirror, and while I absolutely love the tattoo, it doesn't make me feel any different about myself. It's like I was just adding something that should have been there all along.