No Mud No Lotus

Outside of my manic off the top of my head tattoo ideas there are two that I have been mulling over for a bit. The first is the saying "No Mud No Lotus" (Thich Nhat Hanh). This was the first image/saying that emotionally touched me when searching for tattoo ideas. A few years back when I was in a deep depression, on the edge of break down and suicide I had a friend sit me down and tell me that I was a shining star in this world and that the people around me were trying to pull me down into the mud where they lived. This touched me so much that I started to value myself more, not listen to others when they told me how to live my life, and began finding people who were a positive influence. The lotus grows from out of the mud, rising through the waters to make it to the surface pure and untouched by the mud. I look at this and think of what my friend told me years ago. I think of me. I think of what I want to become in life. And I know that you can't have the good, the lotus, without the bad, the mud.

The other tattoo that I want to get to go with this one is the saying "Make. Good. Art." (Neil Gaiman). This particular saying makes me want to push myself and continue creating. It says to me that I have to try harder and just put out art. To not give up and just make good art. I also seem to need a reminder that good work comes with many failures and practice, so I want a reminder on my body not to give in to the voices of doubt in my head and to keep on creating no matter what.