RESILIENCE TATTOO: meaning and useful tips not to be ordinary
RESILIENCE
this beautiful and huge word seemed not to exist until a few years ago when someone discovered it, brought it back to life and made it viral
actually, it became a bit too much viral,
but I think there is a way to be resilient without being ordinary
the meaning of RESILIENCE it’s hidden within a legend of sailors…
if you analyse the etymology of the word RESILIENCE
it turns out that
RESILIENCE derives from GET BACK (UP)
get back on the boat, after the storm has capsized it
like a surviving sailor
that’s where this word comes from
GET BACK
go back up after going down
get back on the ship’s wheel, just like before, more than before
before chaos
RESILIENCE’S meaning: BOUNCING up and down without hurting yourself
here you go, resilience is that fantastic power:
the patience of waiting for everything to pass
the malleability of adapting to the storm blows, aiming to survive
the ability of using your own arms, with the only help of your own strength
without even a foothold in the open sea
using your arms and being able to get back on the dented boat, when everything is over
and get back to the guidance of your vessel, in order to reach your destination safe and sound once again
so, in the last years, many of my customers asked me about the word resilience, and every time I needed to invent a new way to represent it
I am sorry if who is reading the article already has this word tattooed somewhere, alone, with a beautiful calligraphy chosen on the website dafont.com because it’s very likely that other people have it similar
I am sorry because I know that your resilience is different from other people’s resilience
each person chooses to get tattooed for a different reason, for a different war, or rather for a different storm
and each person finds their resilience in a different way than other people do
always
therefore, I would be very sorry to hear that your tattoo may be the same or similar to somebody else’s tattoo, as everyone deserves to represent their own resilience differently
so, let’s see if I can help you with some tips…
if you want to tattoo the word itself,
without any other frills
here I will list some tips:
first of all
the word RESILIENCE derives from GET BACK (UP) so my first obvious advice is to find a part of the body in which the word can be placed vertically, going up
and not horizontally…
it was not a horizontal, linear and flat journey that led you to choose this tattoo, it was rather an abysmal descent and a steep and insidious ascent
so, a vertical tattoo makes much more sense to me
second thing
a tip for the font that you will choose:
it shouldn’t be a font that you choose from the computer, from the typewriter or something like that, something created artificially, not personalized, perfect, which respects rules and proportions, which doesn’t leave imperfections
NOPE
it takes chaos, it takes a human being to write it, it takes mistakes, obstacles
it takes diversity between one letter and another
maybe it would also take some changes in the height or size of the letters
because as I said, it was certainly not a linear journey, but it was full of ups and downs
with mistakes and uncertainties
with fears and tremors
not all the lines are straight and perfect, sinuous and lacking weaknesses
it should be a handmade or imperfect calligraphy
I would also add some ink spots
those unexpected events, those small spots that make the work imperfect
that make you understand that everything didn’t go as you planned
these tips are obviously valid even if you choose to tattoo a sentence related to resilience, not just the word itself ^ _ ^
there are some awesome quotes about resilience that allow you to be different and capture a particular nuance of YOUR own resilience
if you have a poetic vein,
the best thing to do would be writing a sentence that comes from your own bottomless well, but if you’re as lazy as I am… this
SITO contains a lot of interesting quotes ^ _ ^
then of course,
if you don’t want to leave the word alone
or if you don’t want to write it at all, but you want to represent it graphically with other subjects…
well, here a whole new world opens up
first thing to do:
analyse your story and understand HOW you found your resilience
and understand WHAT you learnt from your story
for example, you may have understood that you have to cut the dry branches of a tree, the wrong friendships, the toxic relationships
like lavender you may have understood that you want to ward off the undesired insects
or you may have understood that you don’t have to go back
maybe you want to remember not to make the same mistakes again
lik the dragonfly
or you may have understood that you have the possibility of turning the impossible into possible
even if you didn’t know it before
like the stone balancing
or you may have found a fundamental guide in your family, in a friend, in a stranger, or in someone unexpected
like the cosmos
you may have cracked the concrete with the sweetness of a poppy
you may have found that every rose has thorns in its stem
there are tons of motivations
and you have your own
you may find it useful to read the article I wrote to help you understand which motivations represent you, what to look for in the scenes of your life and what to avoid in order not to get distracted
and then, once you find your motivation in my PSICO-DESIGN column you may also be able to find a collection of meanings and even the subjects that are more suitable for you
when it comes to
the technical effects to be applied to the subjects
that you will choose to represent your own resilience, I would tell you this:
first of all, use intense colours, not pastel ones, which are tender and calm, but rather use those which are full of feelings, strength, passion and energy
use strong lines, strong effects, I don’t think your story has been delicate
you can even try to use shocking technical effects, which are unplanned, perhaps by using two totally different effects, such as:
full and empty
colours and monochrome
sketches and realistic drawings
thick and thin lines
or subjects that are totally in contrast between each other:
stones and feathers
day and night
men and women
it depends on your motivations, obviously
and, in the end, what’s important is to remember to make a vertical drawing ^ _ ^
final tip:
pay attention to WHERE you decide to place the tattoo
each part of the body has its own symbology, and being able to combine it to the search of your motivations, to the symbolism of the images and to the technical effects, will generate the winning combo that will keep you away from being ordinary and it will represent your own resilience
if you fought hard, you could choose the right arm
if you defended yourself magnificently, you could choose the left arm
if…
again, there are a thousand of “IFS” and I already wrote an article on BODY SYMBOLISM to help you in your choice, consciously or not
but now I want to ask you an important question:
sei sicuro di essere resiliente?
o magari sei un antifragile?
do you know what the principle of antifragility is?
unlike RESILIENCE, which is a word that has existed for centuries but had just been obsolete for a while, ANTIFRAGILITY is a new word
coined by Nassim Nicholas Tale
the 21st century Darwin, Plato, Freud, or whoever you want…
in a hundred of years from now, philosophy books will talk about this a man
he wrote very interesting books and if you want to, I highly recommend you to read them,
like THE BLACK SWAN
and ANTIFRAGILE
these books have never been so important and sensible to read as they are now, during the COVID-19 period
I highly recommend them ^ _ ^
however, coming back to our today’s topic
RESILIENCE is that ability to get back on the boat after the storm
back to the starting point, before chaos
and back to our navigation goal, perhaps faster than before
but ANTIFRAGILITY is a different story
antifragility is the principle of evolution, the ability to change during a period of crisis, during a storm
the fragile person is afraid of shaking because they know that somebody will break them into a thousand pieces of crystal
the antifragile person loves disturbing elements, because in this way they can evolve, change, improve
they can undertake routes they didn’t even consider before
routes they didn’t own before
the antifragile gets back on the boat after the storm, altering the plans and deciding to go to the Maldives
actually, the antifragile decides to go to the Maldives DURING the storm
at the first signs of the storm, the antifragile malleability and perspicacity make him or her understand that they have to change direction, react and evolve
because a huge black swan could suddenly appear,
and destroy your ship
hence, resilience will not help you wait to get back on the ship
you will have to find another one
you must not be fragile
you must not be afraid of the blow that can break fragile things
because every storm can be the beginning of a rainbow
every moment of crisis can be the beginning of a moment of personal evolution,
which makes you change your own world, your route
because after the storm, the world will no longer be the same as before
after COVID-19, the world will no longer be the same as before
and we will have to invent a new one
a better one
ANTIFRAGILITY
it’s the word that is replacing resilience
found in the trend of cool things
but also in our hearts
antifragility is probably the second step, after resilience
after a storm you learn to be resilient
then, when you are aware of your strength, you learn to be antifragile
and become an awesome rock star
with love, but always irriverent
