31 Comments

i love the memories and moments attached to my rings - the love that they remind me of in times when all else feels like hopelessness.

tattoos, poetry and songs can transport me as well. mostly words that symbolize a time in life when things were different and thinking back on how far i’ve come but how far i have to go yet

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Yes, yes! We need a tattoo tour now, you realize this?

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LOL well my most special ones include 1. “chase the light” on my forearm. ❤️

2. a semi colon on my wrist

3. an “a” for my sister, my most special friend behind my ear

4. music notes to the melody of moonlight sonata on my bicep

among others but these carry me quite a bit :)

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So amazing. I love this. I have a semi-colon as well!

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such a special symbol :) and i love the conversations that begin from it, so important to be open to it!!

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Rocks. Big boulders, to be exact. When I built my first house, my father lived with me at the time (and was battling cancer). He had me keep the large rocks that were unearthed as they dug the basement because "do you know how much people pay for those, T?" LOL. We placed most of them around the house, with three in the corner of the backyard. He said he wanted to plant a weeping willow by those rocks. He died before he could...and I moved from that house the following year. Charlie and I just completed a house that happens to be on a cul de sac with a similar lot shape. We kept all of the boulders unearthed as they dug the basement. We had a weeping willow installed in the corner of the backyard two weeks ago. We encircled it with 7 large rocks from the unearthing (my dad had 7 children). Those rocks and that tree remind me daily that love abides...it changes and sometimes the person you love can't talk back to you anymore...but the love remains. I envision my grandchildren sitting under that tree and being connected to my dad. Love abides and it multiplies. <3

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This is so beautiful. 🤍

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Thank you. My dad has been gone 21 years now, and I talk to him in my heart all the time. ❤️

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Wow. What a story. This brought tears to my eyes.💙

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Thank you. It meant a lot to me to be able to share it with people who would “get it.”

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Absolutely! Art brings out the best in us. It’s such an honour to be a part of it and to hear your story. I have a vision of your weeping willow surrounded by those rocks...beautiful.

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This is absolutely stunning. My goodness, we're so lucky to know, and love you.

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Thank you. I love you and Sarah. I love the community you have created. I am humbled to be part of it.

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Such a heartfelt and beautiful story. Thank you for sharing with us.

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I’ve surrounded myself with meaning by allowing my sentimental tendencies a forefront. When I look around my space, I’m reminded daily of the people I hold so dear. It could be anything, and there are special things...and with them are the invisible yet felt chords that attach to my heart. It sounds flowery, sappy even, but it’s hard to convey in words the multitudes I feel. The connection is everywhere. In every thing. The search is over. In it is the reason, the answer, to every question I ever had about why we’re here.

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I always worry about owning too many things, but the one place I never do, is when those things are representatives of the people I love. This is wonderful.

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Yessss. I love how you are so intentional and deeply connected to your environment. I am similar to a degree and almost every book, photo, framed piece of work is connected to a memory, family member, or a personal story. My tiny little studio is carefully designed with my favorite things. When I moved from the Midwest to Colorado, I packed all that I could in my SUV and gave everything else away. My sister was inquiring if I really needed to bring so many plants and the awkward but beautiful glass window from my childhood home. Everything has meaning.

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Love this.

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My favorite tattoo - my family name in Ogham, inked in Dublin while on a two week road trip with my father (his grandparents were from Ireland). 💚

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Sarah and I have Ogham tattoos as well, on our wedding ring fingers on our left and right hand. On my left, is S for Sarah, on hers is T for Tyler, and on our right, is G for Gregson.

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I love that.

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A necklace. I helped my dad pick it out for my stepmom for Valentines Day 2012. She passed away later that year, and today would've been their 15 year anniversary. I wear her necklace every single day, and haven't taken it off in 7 years. It's the little things we carry each and every day that mean the most. 💛

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I have a piece of molten lava that was split in 2 halves by my one of my closest friends. He has the other half. Coronavirus put a hold on us meeting under the northern lights of Norway. I look forward to our future when we can be on the same continent and the lava and ourselves are complete 💚

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LAVA! That is incredible. And your Norway plans, whenever they happen, will be amazing.

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I have pictures I’ve taken of places I’ve traveled or jewelry as well. And I have a tattoo of me and my 2 dogs and one from your walking poetry project. ❤️

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Ooh rad.

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Definitely my tattoos. The pieces of the places I’ve wandered and the words that mean the most, indelibly a part of me no matter what storm I’m facing.

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I love this! I hold my tattoos very close to my heart. I've made it a point to get a new tattoo after every major growth spurt or pivotal event in my life. It's cool because I have a long tory behind every one of my them, almost like wearing my soul in code on my body. I hope if I'm lucky enough to make it to a much older age I'll have my own huge storybook on my body.

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I love this. I mark events with tattoos as well. Every. Single. Time.

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So, I'm a very symbolic thinker so the whole of my life can be associated with them. My husband and I just closed on a new house today and everything that goes on the walls is going to be symbolic....a sun, moon phases, a compass rose....I want my son's to be raised with a connection to Earth and a sense of direction. We'll have a calla lily sculpture for my mother, and a lighthouse for his. Both my boys grandmothers have passed on and we are very intentional in honoring them. I'll have specific items to honor the elements. So I guess in that way, our new home will exist as a continuous shamanic altar.

I'm also ready for the tattoos I've been pondering for about a decade. On one forearm will be a circle....within will be a lighthouse, and in the distance, a mountain. Along the bottom curve a calla lily, and in the sky, two birds representing my sons. On the other forearm, a seed of life with an owl above it, wings draping over, and a bee below it. For me, the owl has always represented wisdom and intuition. The seed of life, merkaba, or interconnectedness, and the bee....aside from being related to my name (which means honeybee), represents feminine power (Queen bee & Ancient priestesses of the Goddess we're called "The Melissa") but also the power of cooperation, community, and interdependence. Those tattoos are coming....😏

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This is all so beautiful.

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