Freedom, One Love, Family & Mortal

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A strange combination of words to be sure, but some that all of us can relate too. I mean, after all, we are all mortal and are all born into some type of family. And our souls are all crying out for love and freedom, right?

Honestly, I do not know the exact reason that I chose those four words to have tattooed on my body at that time. I can guess… but at this point your guess may be as good as mine. In those days I was rarely sober, so I rarely thought. In fact, that was the whole point. I had put myself in a situation before that really hurt me emotionally, and I dove deep into drugs and alcohol in an attempt not to feel or think.

That “solution” always had a limited “success” rate. To really attempt to have that method work, you need to try quite hard every day, because every day you wake up sober and have to drink, smoke, and whatever else all over again. The effect of such things on my life and mind at the time are probably part of why I cannot say for sure what the exact reasons for choosing those specific words were.

However, since I can guess, and since I know what those words mean to me now, I’ll tell you what I can.

FREEDOM

“Freedom” is the cry of many people, and often it means very different things to different people. Sometimes what one would call “freedom” another would call “slavery.” Many people fight and struggle their entire lives just to try to get to their own version of freedom, and yet there are others who would want nothing to do with that life or lifestyle. Though truth cannot be relative, everyone can have their own version of freedom.

In those days freedom probably meant being able to do whatever I wanted to do without fear of consequences or restrictions. If I wanted to stroll down the street sucking on a 40 oz and puffing on a spliff, then I should be able to. If I wanted to tattoo my face, wear a chain through the septum of my nose and dye my hair bright blue and spike it, then I should be able to without fear of it affecting my employment or other opportunities. If I wanted to shout swear words at the top of my lungs in the middle of the street all night long, then I should be able to without fear of getting a “disorderly conduct.”

That was then… These days, “freedom” for me means being to raise my children in the way that I find to be most proper and reasonable. It means being able to have a small patch of land to raise some animals and grow some food on. Above all, it means that I no longer have to be enslaved to any sins or destructive lifestyle based upon poor choices. It means that I do not need to have my life be defined by my past decisions or actions, and that I can now life a different life, free from the rule of the things that once completely controlled my life.

FAMILY

Exactly what a family is has really begun to vary these days. Ultimately, since a sperm and egg are needed to make a baby and begin the next generation, a family usually begins with a man and a woman, who then have a child. However, those three don’t even always stick together, and other adults and children often get involved in the mix. There are then grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and all sorts of other ones too.

At the time, I wasn’t really that “big” on family. I certainly had no desire to get married and did want any children of my own. That much was for sure! Also, though I had parents and brothers and they meant something to me, I wasn’t really close relationally.

Living on the other side of the United States didn’t help much, but even if I lived next door, my lifestyle prevented me from really interacting with them on a serious level. Basically, I wanted to live for pleasure, which included a lot of drug and alcohol use and a certain amount of other behavior that generally doesn’t go over well when you are hanging out with your parents. Since I was never really focused on anything else, to hang out for long periods of time prevented me from “enjoying” myself, so situations like that were avoided.

Basically, I think that “family” meant enough for me to get the word tattooed on me because it was supposed to, and not necessarily because it actually did. That is a super-selfish mentality, but I believe that it is the truth.

These days, “family” actually does mean something to me. In fact, it doesn’t just mean something, it means a lot! You’ve probably “met” @mama-pepper now and the small pile of @little-peppers that we already have as well, so you know a bit about my immediate family. Though there was a time when I had no desire to be a husband or a father, these days such is one of my greatest privileges and a responsibility that I take very serious and am blessed to be able to.

As I move out from there, my physical family also means a lot more to me. My mom and dad have become incredibly important and special to me, and I am blessed to be able to interact with them on a much deeper level. My brothers are also more important to me, as are their families. It’s the same with my extended family too.

Not only has my outlook on my physical family completely changed, but I now have an incredible eternal family too! Since I have entered the family of God by the blood of Jesus Christ, other believers are now my eternal brothers and sisters. The physical family perishes with the flesh upon death, but the eternal family lives on forever with the spirit.

ONE LOVE

As a dreadlocked, pot-smoking man who enjoyed Reggae music, I was rather familiar with the term and mentality of “One Love” as made popular around the world by the music of Bob Marley. Though the concept and belief system did not start with Marley, his music spread the idea around the world.

Though I did not completely subscribe to the Rastafarian mentality, there were multiple aspects of that faith and lifestyle that certainly did appeal to me, and some of my closest friends at that time were Rastafarians. It is from that outlook on life that I believe I chose those words to include in my tattoos.

These days, I dismiss the belief system of the Rastafarians. As far as I have been able to tell, their “messiah” was not one willingly, and was in fact a believer in Jesus Christ himself. These days I embrace the “One Love” that actually matters, God’s love for us expressed in the sacrifice of His only Son Jesus Christ upon the cross.

It is this love that has radically changed my entire life and given me not only a true love for God, but also for all of mankind. He has put a greater love, vision, and purpose in me than I could have ever came up with on my own, and He has empowered me to live it.

MORTAL

Yes, our death, rapidly approaching each second. We do not know when it will get here, but we all know that it is coming. I have no real idea what I thought about death at that point, other than I know that I did not plan on making it into my 30s at that point.

I think that part of that was that I did not want to have to grow up and accomplish anything. Eventually it seems that there is an expectation on all of us to “do something with our lives.” Getting high and sleeping around isn’t a valid “something” to accomplish. I also think that enough of my life hurt and pained me that I had no desire to “deal with it” long-term.

Often, there is a fear of death in many of us. For others, there is a fear of life. I know that it sounds strange to mention a “fear of life” but this is what causes suicides. There are truly so many who would rather kill themselves than face another day of life. Whether it is a fear of death or a fear of life, many have a lot of fear on these issues.

Now, my mortality “problem” has been solved by my faith in Jesus Christ. Since He died to pay for my sins, I no longer have to face the wrath of God because of them. Now, eternal life awaits me after this life ends, and death simply is the last door to walk through in order to enter life without end. There is no more fear of death for me, and no more fear of life either.

THE SUM OF THE WHOLE MATTER

In the end, whatever those words once meant to me, it seems that God has given me the desires of my heart. He showed me the One Love that gave me true Freedom and made me part of His eternal Family so that I no longer have to be concerned about being Mortal.

Obviously not everyone will agree with that conclusion, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

I hope that you enjoyed this entire Tale of Two Tattoos, and if you missed the other parts, I’ve linked them here:

A TALE OF TWO TATTOOS : Part 1

A TALE OF TWO TATTOOS : Part 2

As always, I’m @papa-pepper and here’s the proof:

proof-of-2-tattoos

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