The thing with tattoos is that once you get started with ink, you easily want more. At least, that’s how it turned out for me. But I like to think things through and none of my tattoos are the result of impulse or drunken spontaneity. I started thinking about getting tattooed when I was 15 and got my first one when I was 23. My second one was four years later, then I took a break and had my third one in 2010.
Right after my body forgot the pain of that 2010 tattoo, I started to think about the next one. It took me four years to come up with the image. When I saw this picture, I knew it had to be something like this:
I have always loved butterflies and flowers. When I invited my love into my house for the first time I used the pretence that I had some special stamps—and indeed showed him my collection which he patiently browsed through. And I have always loved books. When that same love came to my office for the first time, he was amazed to find a framed picture of my book shelves. And when I came across a quote from Eric Hoffer, “I get my stimulation from both the world of books and the book of the world”[1], the pieces fell together. In a way, how butterflies undergo metamorphoses can be a metaphor for how we humans transform due to life-changing events. As a scholar in narrative sociology, I research how people use and create stories to make sense of their worlds and the changes they go through. My latest tattoo is a perfect summary for the relation between narratives (the book of the world and the world of books) and the changes that take place in our lives. But all rationalization aside, I just think it’s a beautiful tat and I’m also happy with it for its aesthetic qualities.
[1] Working and thinking on the waterfront, first published in 1969. My 2009 copy is from Hopewell Publications, the quote is at page 63 (date in the journal: December 4, 1958).
