Hello! How are you doing? I hope you have had a fun and relaxing Summer. I have just returned from my yoga retreat in Valencia and feel all zen. I wonder how long that is going to last as the onset of the daily duties starts calling:) For now, I am enjoying the state of peace I am in and being in the Now.
I wanted to share an amazing experience with you while I was in Valencia. I got a Butterfly tattoo! Now this tattoo is so much more than just a tattoo because it is a symbol of liberation and getting it, felt like a huge pilgrimage.
I have always wanted a Butterfly tattoo but was too afraid of the pain to get one. I never dreamt I would get one in Valencia as this was unplanned. But Life happens when you let go of your plan. In Valencia, I met a beautiful like-minded soul who is a mermaid just like me and we started talking about our desires. She did a mermaid reading for me and at the end, it became clear that. I needed to assert my own identity. the topic of a tattoo came up and I could feel my suppressed longing to get one. That same afternoon, we ditched the afternoon yoga session and went shipping in Valencia. The first shop we come across is … yes you guessed a tattoo shop! By that time I felt courageous enough to go inside and to to just get it done. But I had to postpone the appointment since I was told I could not swim for 2 weeks. Now, as you know swimming is a must for me in the Summer so postponing the appointment until the weekend was easily done.
Saturday comes around. I had spent the whole evening before battling my ego, trying to sabotage the process and instilling fear.” Are you sure about this, what if you falnt from the pain and you have no one to help?”(My likeminded mermaid spirit had left for her next destination- so I was alone.) Yet despite the ego chatter I persevered and called up a friend for support. I knew also that I was not alone since the Universe supported me.
I mentioned in the beginning that it felt like a true pilgrimage to get the tattoo and let me explain why. I was told that after getting the tattoo I needed to apply Bepanthanol healing cream. Normally a pharmacy is close by but in my case, I was one hour’s walk from the nearest town. So i walked in the heat- 37 Ce/sius – 96 Fahrenheit well covered with my sunhat along the beach to and from the pharmacy. Then, I had to catch a train which. I missed and had to wait for an. hour for the next one. At that time I had texted the tattoo artist that I was running late. Once I arrive at the station. I am hot and sticky and need the toilet. Also, my phone dies. Now I could have freaked out but I kept on affirming: I am safe , I am loved and I am supported and that helped. me through this whole ordeal. I luckily can charge. my phone in the toilets- Spanish toilets are very practical that way. I switched on Google Maps to get my bearings because I took the wrong exit and got hit with 41 degrees of heat almost smothering me. I backtrack following my intuition and finally arrive at the tattoo shop completely exhausted and one hour late. The tattoo artist starts his work and by that time I am in a state of surrender. I think it all had to be this way to get me to this place of surrender. And the best part: it did not hurt as much as I thought. It felt like a masterpiece was being created. Within an hour, he was done and I took the train back to the retreat, overjoyed and empowered.
The moral of this story is not to let your fear get in the way of all you desire. Your desire is coming from your Spul and is there for a reason- to guide you to your joy. It always takes effort to fulfill our deepest desires and sometimes it is a pilgrimage or an upwards battle. But the reward of deep fulfillment and piercing the fear is more than worth it.
I am enclosing a picture so you have a better idea of what it looks like:)
