Inked~ a tattoo story

Inked, originally uploaded by LauraJ_Sews.

a little poem I wrote today on an experience I've waited years to have:

Some will love it,
Others will hate it.
I will no longer debate it.
It's done and it's there
for me to share
the beauty within each
and everyone of us.
~~~

(forgive me for my thoughts being all scatter brained)
For years I've wanted a tattoo. It's a personal choice. It's a long choice. What I have learned about this experience is that the minute you tell friends or family you are getting a tattoo the first thing they ask what will you get?
When I first made my appointment I thought of having Be nice Be kind Be gentle on the outside of my right forearm. My appointment was pushed back 2 weeks and for each day of those two weeks I changed my mind 14 times a day.
I knew that I wanted words or something to remind me that I matter in this world, but I wanted others to find within themselves that they matter too.
All through the month a June there was a voice that whispered to me that I had an small candle inside me and that I must keep it lit. I was going through a very rough time emotionally trying to keep things together in a relationship I knew very well I shouldn't have been in. One day everything came to a head and my candle went out. I went home and realized that this person was not responsible for lighting my candle. It was my responsibility.
I made my appointment several days later.
I have dabbled in Buddhist thought for years and found the phrase Make of yourself a light. I read up on it, interpretted it and found that it fit me. And so the design of a tattoo was formed. I found a nice tattoo font maker online and typed in and fell in love.
Now I come back to when people asked me what I was going to get. Well I did waffle about the first idea and the new idea and everyone had an opinion. Everytime someone gave an opinion it swayed the way I percieved my idea to be.
I printed it off anyway and brought it with me to my appointment today. I wanted a tattoo in a place that wouldn't bother my own vision, hence the outer right forearm. After consulting with the tattoo artist, who is a wonderful woman who has made a light within herself and it shines so brightly I must add, she showed me this spot on the inner part of the left fore arm. I thought it's brilliant! And away we went. And I love it!
I will now have something on my arm to focus on besides the battle scars I've dealt with for so many years. I can focus on the positive and not the negative.
So that is my tattoo story. I am glad I waited all these years. These past few weeks I have felt an inner shift happening. I can actually see and feel that my view and perceptions of the world are changing. Most importantly I feel a shift within myself on how I view me which is the greatest gift I have given myself for my 38th year.

I want to thank you all for the birthday wishes!