So, yesterday’s Snickers post and the chatter that ensued got me thinking about this Milky Way commercial. Some are probably urban legend, some are actual life, but there are plenty of “bad tattoo” memes and pics on the interwebs. My favorite is the no regerts tattoo, and I think the Milky Way commercial was very clever! I give all credits for the above image to Milky Way and their clever commercial!
I have just a few tattoos, currently. They’ve all happened after a specific idea came to mind and stayed there for years, until one day the internal idea became an external expression. One might say I literally had to flesh out the idea.
The no regerts idea is the one that keeps coming to mind now. I would want it to be visible enough that people see it (maybe just sometimes) and wonder if I’m aware it’s misspelled, or if maybe I’m not quite “all there” (that question is up for debate). My wife isn’t so keen on the idea, so I haven’t actually done it (yet?).
I tend to think that everyone has some level of regret (see, I do know how it’s spelled). There are certainly choices I’ve made in life that I do not want to ever make again! Yes, in hindsight I know that my choices make me – are making me – the person I am today. From that perspective, I would like to say there was a greater purpose for each situation, each choice. I can also see, from some distance away, the wake of pain and heartbreak some of my choices caused others, and the anxiety and sorrow they brought me.
The real rub is that even if I had the chance to do it all again, I cannot say I would do anything differently. Because while it’s nice to think I would somehow be able to take the knowledge I now have with me back in time, that’s just not realistic. And even if I could, there’s the whole butterfly effect to consider. And while I don’t like some parts of where I’ve come from, I do like where I am. Honestly, too, I just have no desire to go back and relive any part of my life ever again.
So, I’m faced with the reality that I would, in fact, do it all again just as I have done.
But I do have my regrets.
What about you? Have any tattoos you’d like to get? Would you change even just one thing about your life if you could?
Pinwheel in a Hurricane 
This post is food for thought for me. I really like the Milky Way advert (we don’t get that one in the UK – unless I’ve missed it). Tattoos – I’ve got quite a few, mostly small ones, apart from my favourite tattoo of a kingfisher surrounded by the words, ‘This too shall pass.’ That one is relatively recent, and on my forearm, so it only shows in the summer. I do have one that I do regret, but not through any fault of my own. I went to a tattoo studio years ago and wanted a little fairy on my upper arm with the names of my two little granddaughters around it. Later, I would have had my two youngest grandchildren’s names on there, too. Instead of a delicate fairy, the tattoo ‘artist’ had produced a stomping great elf instead! I was so upset. The guy subsequently got the sack, but it was too late for me. Looking back, I should have sued, but it’s too late now.
Going on to your question about whether would I change anything in my life. Like you, I tend to think our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. I mostly like where I’m at now, but I’ve done my fair share of emotionally hurting friends and family when I was mentally unwell and an addict. I think I’d like to wipe out those few years. I hadn’t heard of the butterfly effect, so I had to Google that – that’s made me think more about your questions, too. Despite my long ago mental illness and addictions, I have made a few good friends along the way, and I definitely wouldn’t want to change that.
P.S. I haven’t had time to look at the other blog you mentioned; I’ve just been so busy. I’m looking forward to taking a look when I can, though 😊.
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No tattoos here – and too afraid of needles to get any. As for regrets, I used to regret not continuing with my studies when I was younger; but with hindsight, and like you said the experiences that have come since, I wouldn’t change anything now. Had I done things as I wished earlier, the outcome would have been different and I don’t think I would be as happy
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I would stretch more in my younger days so my body was a bit more flexible
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Yeah, I had an aversion to stretching when I was younger… definitely something I regret now.
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