The whole notion of the tattoo is highly personal. Why would we alter our external appearance permanently? There are many reasons and from my chair all of them are essentially valid. After all, personal is personal.
What perplexes me is that folks tend to use the existence of the outward tattoo as a basis for judgment just as they use other elements of appearance for the same purpose. Some even come right and tell you how wrong it is and how they would never do something like that. I respect that.....but I also would counter their contention with the fact that all of us are tattooed in one form or the other.
I may have three that can be seen but I daresay there are hundreds inked indelibly on my heart, mind, and spirit that all speak to who it is I am and the kind of life I have lived. Some of them are highly positive and many of them not. But they are mine and although they are hidden from view, I know where to find them. And yes they are personal, as they should be.
So as you consider the sum total of what makes us tick, give a thought to your own permanent ink, wherever it may reside. Then the next time you see a guy or a gal with a fresh tat, ask them about it and listen to the whys of it all. None of us have cornered the market on perfection but the collective mosaic of all our ink, internal and external, tells a pretty interesting story.
