“Fortune befriends the bold.”
Emily Dickinson
Remember what it felt like to be young and unafraid? To disregard warning signs or suggestions in order to just dive head first into oblivion? Well, maybe we’re still young. There is still time to risk. All you need to do is find a passion, something that begs you to try something new, different, and unexpected.
There are instances when we find ourselves stagnant and frozen in life. It’s then when a catalyst arrives to shake us out of our comfort zone. This force of nature can be a situation, a place, a person, or even a drive that is born from deep inside our soul.
For some, this can be an adventure they’ve always wanted to take but have been to cautious to try. Others are forced through circumstance to discover their own spontaneous reactionary side.
But what happens when an individual, a human, just like yourself, barges into your routine? They’re just like you, and yet they’re different. From one moment to the next, you start believing in possibilities and infinite scenarios where you are not afraid of taking a chance.
At first you believe yourself to be in love with their bravado and the life force they transmit into your blood. This is why, when they leave, you’re left believing that perhaps that was it, that you will never find the strength to be bold again.
Yet eventually you see how, even without the catalyst, you are still this renewed agent of chaos and change. You have become the catalyst for someone else to learn from.
When we discover how our own boldness can awaken those who are sleepwalking through life, we reignite the passion that brought us to living life on the edge.
Some people think that getting a tattoo makes you brave. They also think that looking or being different makes a person bold. In truth, those ideas are as wrong as they are superficial. Getting some new ink won’t turn you into a new person, but perhaps being open to the experience of ink, or carrying a keepsake on your skin, through a choice that is devoid of trying to impress anyone. It’s when you realize how you’ve changed and what you want to remember that you are emboldened.
As for the latter, being different isn’t something you can choose, fix, or change. Coming to terms with who you are by digging deep into the places of yourself you might want to look away from: that’s the stuff that takes guts.
Being unafraid does not mean being immune to pain. It doesn’t mean you won’t get that nagging sensation that perhaps you shouldn’t jump. What it means is to trust yourself enough to still take the plunge. To know that whatever lies on the other side will only make you stronger and take you a step closer to where you want to be.
German Gabriel Canalla is a tattoo artist based in Buenos Aires. His designs combine the sensuous with the cheeky and carefree. His works usually include female characters who are free and unrepentant about who they are and how the world sees them. You can check out more of his designs on his Instagram.
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