Consider for a moment: we are all individual threads of a global stream of consciousness.
On the surface such an idea seems to have no merit in the real world, as we go about our lives, study, pursue our careers, and tend to our family and friends. Yet underneath all this activity, we are each the product of our interactions with everyone else. We are all cooperating.
"Everybody is I, you all know you are you. And wheresoever beings exist throughout all galaxies it doesn't make any difference. You are all of them, and when they come into being that's you coming into being, you know that very well." -Alan Watts
Here and now, we are creating our reality. Each thing we do, each choice we make, ends up affecting everyone around us, sending rippling waves of effect around the globe. Some of the smallest choices have the potential to do this: a smile for a downhearted stranger, an ear for a friend who needs to talk, a meal for someone in need. Negative acts have this potential too, and each day we play a part making the world a different place for better or worse.
Those choices, the path we walk, can be understood to be our 'karma,' in the traditional sense. They are the choices that bring back to us what we put out into the world. So it goes without saying that one of the biggest choices we can make, putting permanent art into our skin, can have drastic effects on how we see and affect society around us. Your tattoo is your karma.
These pieces of art that stay with us 'til the grave have the potential to enlighten and inspire us each morning, to help us remember a deceased loved one, to bind us closely with friends, or lift us up and put us back on track when we become stuck in the past. When poorly chosen, tattoos can serve to alienate us from others, to give off the wrong messages about who we are or want to be, and to alter our mindsets and interactions with others in ways that cannot be undone. Positive or negative, these things can and will have lasting effects on our lives.
Declaring that our tattoos are our karma also implies that we have the power to create powerful global change with our tattoos, and this is not an exaggeration. If giving a flower to another human being can transform that person's day, imagine what the effects would be of a tattoo that reminds us to give a flower each day, to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, to resist corruption, to care for children, to work hard and play hard every day.
We must remember that the ripples of our choices create the ocean of humanity, and that it's our permanent, most courageous choices which create the strongest ripples. Tattoos are more than decoration. Your tattoo is your karma.
