my life leaf

this is my new tattoo. 

(2/16/2011)

its a semi-abstract drawing i did of a maple leaf.

i went with my left foot for this one, balancing out the pre-existing tattoo i have on my right.

after my first ("don't let your eyes refuse to see. 

don't let your ears refuse to hear..."), 

i decided that if i were to ever get another tat, that it would be something i drew.

As the maple leaf has 5 points, there are also 5 members in my family. i hid each persons first initial in each of the five points on the leaf, (minus my own), as they are each close to my heart and make up my "life leaf", if you will.

fun free facts:

apparently, in china, the maple leaf is an emblem of lovers.  
just one leaf? singular? 
hmmmmmmm...

it's also the national flag of canada, of this I am aware.

as much as i love justin beiber, neither the beebs nor canada, NOR this ridiculous website (you must see this) 


http://lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.tumblr.com/


are the driving inspiration behind this recent decision. 
for reals.
only this... 

i have this deep fascination with trees and leaves and the cyclical,
beautiful life they lead.

i admire the slow and elegant growth of trees, 

the birth of its leaves and the dependency of the leaves upon the the tree. 

I admire the changing of the leaves 
with the coming of the fall,  
the gorgeous array of colors, 
the death of the leaves and the fall from their procreator to the ground.

 all the while possessing this unmatched beauty

which we refuse to receive as a display of mortality. 

SURELY this kind of beauty can only be found in something that is so alive. 

The intricate details found in a leaf's veins, so exposed, yet so beautiful, the unwaivering strength and story of a tree's roots,  the shelter of its branches- 

I think it's incredible.

i see the beauty of life and death here;

 the beauty of change over time, 
the beauty of growth and dependence.

the greatest of these is love

it's valentines day (once again), 

and good ol' mr. cupid has shot a mental arrow my way, putting the big "L" word on my brain. 

the best and most beautiful things in this world

 cannot be seen or even touched. 

they must be felt with the heart.

LOVE: 

we think about it,

sing about it,

dream about it ,

and loose sleep worrying about it. 

when we don't know we have it, 

we search for it.

 when we discover it, 

we don't know what to do with it.

 when we have it, 

we fear loosing it. 

it is the constant source of pleasure and pain,

but we don't know which it will be from one moment to the next.

 it is a short word,

easy to spell,

 difficult to define

 & IMPOSSIBLE to live without.

"and now these 3 remain: 

faith, hope and love. 

but the greatest of these is LOVE."

"let your love be like the misty rains, 

coming softly, but flooding the river."  

LOVE

NEVER

FAILS.

"all you need is love."

"LOVE is not breathlessness, 

it is not excitement, 

it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. 

That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. 

Love itself 

is what is left over when being in love has burned away,

 and this is both an art and a fortunate accident."

live. laugh. LOVE.

"the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return."