So it's been about a year since my first tattoo and ever since then I have been struggling to find my next tattoo. I soo loved the experience that I knew that I wanted more........... I just didn't know what I wanted. So obviously I saw a bunch of tattoos when April and I went to the Tattoo Expo in SF a couple weeks ago, but even before then I knew what I wanted.
Here's my criteria for getting a tattoo
Question #1. The pain, is it too much for me to handle?
Answer #1. No way, the pain is ...well...........it's painful but the reward wayyy out-weighs the small price both in temporary pain and temporary damage to my wallet!
Question #2. The design, is it unique...... or moderately. Moreover, is it personal or is it just something that I saw in a book and liked it.
Answer #2. I won't know it until I see the "Thing" and when it's the right "Thing" I will absolutely know it and it will speak to me that it is the right one!
Question #3. What is the significance of the tattoo/design?
Answer #3. Same as answer #2 above.
Question #4. Colors..... or black and white?
Answer #4. Same as answer #2 above
That's it really for my criteria........ now here's how I came about the design for my latest tattoo, to be done this coming weekend.
I saw a guy with a tattoo on his outer-right side of his right forearm. It was writing, of what I do not know and I don't remember if it was in red or black or blue. But it was the idea that "Sparked" something in my head. That's where my next tattoo will be and I will find a phase that has meaning to me, it will be in some foreign language but I wasn't sure what language it would be. French was my first thought, but no.......not unique enough and while I love the language, I don't find anything especially pretty about French when written as it looks......well..... like any other language.
So I've had this phrase in my head for several years now and it was from something that Gandhi had said during an interview with a British journalist, I believe that was where this is from but I am yet to find the full text of the message. Long story short....... Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world". So there it was, I had the phrase. Immediately upon putting it in my mind that this would be the phrase..... the language came up. Aramaic! I've never seen Aramaic and it's not something that you see everyday in the "Western World". But here's some info that I've dug up in regards to why I've chosen this language. And to step back just a bit... before I found Gandhi's phrase I did think of something in Hebrew but then that thought faded as I looked for the phrase.
Here's some various "Fact-oids" that I found out about Aramaic, some I knew and some I didn't know........"A northwest Semitic language known since before the tenth century BCE until the rise of Islam; still used today in some places in the Near East; official language of the Persian empire; used extensively in southwest Asia and by the Jews after the Babylonian exile; the cursive script replaced the ancient paleo-Hebrew script for secular writing as well as for holy scriptures. One of the languages most widely used by the Jews at the time the scrolls were written or transcribed or translated."
More...."the Semitic language which was the vernacular in Palestine in the time of Christ, and which he himself almost certainly used"
more still......."The Jews starting speaking Aramaic when they were taken as slaves to Babylon"
more............."Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship. It is the original language of large sections of the biblical books of Daniel and Ezra, and is the main language of the Talmud. Aramaic is believed to have been the language spoken by Jesus, and it is still spoken today as a first language by numerous small communities."
So now.......... here's the script....
"be the change that you wish to see in the world", read from right to left.
I found a place that not only does the translations, but they offer it in several different period translations and I also got the pronunciation as well. Who has a tattoo that can't pronounce what it says? The translation is the actual "Old Aramaic" version but I also liked another one that they did for me, same words..... just in one of the first Hebrew versions of Aramaic.... here's that one as well.
So........ I am between these two translations and I'll know by the time that I sit in the chair, this weekend, which one it will be. I'll do my best to describe where on me it will be and how it will be oriented on my person, then I'll post pictures to show you all how it turned out!
Okay... so if you were to lay your arms on the table, like from a seated position, with your hand palm-side down..... the writing will be on the outside of my right forearm. If you were to look at my arm while it was on the table you would probably clearly see the tattoo and be able to read it...... if you can read Aramaic. :-) It will be about 8 inches in length by about 3/4 of an inch tall, which will pretty much run the entire length of my forearm. The translations are an outline so that it's easier to make the design and then it will be filled in once it has been transferred to me arm.
So I guess that's it, but let me finish by answering my previous tattoo criteria from above
Question #1. The pain, is it too much for me to handle?
Answer #1. No way, it will totally be worth it
Question #2. The design, is it unique...... or moderately. Moreover, is it personal or is it just something that I saw in a book and liked it.
Answer #2. There are people with Hebrew and other ancient scripts on them, so no... this isn't a "Ground-Breaking" tattoo design, but I love it and the Aramaic I think is something that I haven't run across before. Although the translation company does tattoo stencils so I imagine that it is becoming more frequently used.
Question #3. What is the significance of the tattoo/design?
Answer #3. The significance is whatever you think is significant about the phrase. Much like a lot of what Gandhi said.... simple truths.... simple put...... and hard to deny once they have been heard! I find it to be very significant to me in soo many things about life..... the environment, war, peace, poverty, hunger..... whatever it is that you don't like in the world..... the change can start and must start with YOU being the change! Scale it down smaller..... as to just your life. What don't you like in your life? Be that change!
Question #4. Colors..... or black and white?
Answer #4. Probably just black..... still deciding but leaning toward black.
Take care...
---eric
