Time for a new tattoo

I was wide awake at 5 am this morning.  I am excited.  I am heading to Queenstown/Otautahi today to get a new tattoo.

Traditional tattoo

 I have wanted a traditionally designed Māori tattoo for a number of years but didn’t feel that the time was right or to be honest that I was right for one.  I didn’t think I deserved to wear a traditional design on my arm, wasn’t good enough, wasn’t Māori enough and definitely way too white looking. 

Personal judgements

All judgements, filters and beliefs that I had placed on myself – not by anyone else or by society but just one of the many that I had inflicted on myself throughout life.

The crone

In a previous blog I discussed aging, of being a crone and how empowering I truly find it.  As a wahine/woman our beauty and worth are perceived to fade as we age but as we hopefully have discovered, beauty is more than skin deep and aging wahine are strong and powerful.  We now have time to focus on what our priorities are, time to do what we actually love and partake in what fills us up.

My ancestry

My Māori ancestry, the journey I am on in acknowledging and embracing this part of me, fills up my wairua/spirit. It is as if the Kaikaranga is calling me back home and I can no longer ignore her cries.

Ink on my skin in Otautahi

 Ink on my skins fills me up too and today I am really looking forward to Renata from Otautahi Tattoo Queenstown taking me on a journey connecting me in another way with my ancestry and what is an integral part of me – being Māori. Do what fills you up and like the quote I have used in this post – live as if you were to die tomorrow. No regerts 🙂

Aroha nui

Kim