Heart Tattoos

While I was stopped behind traffic, I glanced to my right at an advertising vehicle in a parking lot. With a four-color photo covering the side of the truck, the back of a shapely woman displayed her tattoo design. The truck sign read: “Nothing Lasts Forever. Remove your ex,”—Laser Tattoo Removal. If only it were that simple. Later I reached my destination for the support group that I facilitated. I listened to the heartaches of women who have not been able to remove the pain of relationships.

I consider tattoos involving someone’s name naive, let alone the concept of that particular body art. (Ever seen admirable tattoos on 85-year-olds?). I’m not sure how much physical discomfort and cost are involved in removing tattoos. I’m guessing one’s skin never quite returns to its pre-art condition.

Some abuse survivors find it comforting to know that their skin regenerates approximately every five weeks (variables apply). And factoring in other regenerated body parts, you can periodically possess a new body. Yet the internal process of erasing your “ex” can be next to impossible.

Bonding: Blessing or Heartbreak

Last year I spoke to a group of college women. I had hoped to impress upon them that relationships run deep. Benefits indeed. Powerful hormones are involved, especially when people have experienced sexual activity together. Those very hormones help to emotionally glue people together. Even if it wasn’t very good, bonding can take place. Bonding can be a blessing with commitment and maturity, or it can be a literal heartbreak.

If you have a sense of self or share anything of value, it’s supposed to hurt when ripped apart.

Questions for personal journaling or group discussion:

1. What if we really could erase people from our lives. Would we learn and grow? And would there be less pain?

2. How do you respond to the truck’s phrase: “Nothing lasts forever?”

If you liked this, you might also like Answers with the Rain | Teens, Tattoos, and the Bible 

Karen Spruill writes from Florida.

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