On Facebook, I
briefly mentioned that my new tattoo is a dragonfly. In more detail,
(and I may try to insert a picture.) it is a bright blue,
native-style, dragonfly with the Chinese character for water,
shadowed underneath. Literally, a dragonfly on water.
I wanted this one for some time and I figured
I finally lay down all the meaning behind it.
History:
The
actual story.
I
worked a couple of summers for Challenge Wilderness Camp in 1989 &
1990. (Later
Roaring Brook Camp for Boys) In
my second season, 1990, we were on our week’s long canoe trip in
northern Maine. This season, it was a "Lakes Trip." There wasn’t
as much whitewater as the previous season, but still, to be in the
middle of nowhere; words
can’t describe. I see pictures of the night sky with the Milky Way front and center and fondly remember
nights like those.
Back
to my point: we were canoeing across a lake, something that would
take the better part of the day and were about a half the way across,
when a neon-blue dragonfly; who had absolutely no business being
where it was, landed on my left arm, right at the elbow. To this day,
some 30 years on, I can still feel it holding on to my arm as it
rested there. I knew it needed to rest and I knew it meant me no
harm, so I kept my paddling steady so as not to disturb it. The two
young men in the front of my canoe were amazed that I just let it
stay there and didn’t swat it away.
They
kept looking back to see if it was still there, as we paddled along.
For a good 15 minutes, the dragonfly rested on my arm and then after
it recovered enough, took off. It flitted about the canoe for a bit,
landing here and there on the kit stowed in the canoe, then was gone.
Gone from sight, never from my mind.
Much
the same way Challenge
is never gone from my mind. As an aside, I find utterly amazing, and
on another level, utterly terrifying; the responsibility that
Corc & Thayer rested upon my shoulders. I like to think I handled
it well. All I know for certain, is, it changed me. The camp was
advertised as a way for young boys, typically of a sheltered life, to
learn how to meet the challenges life would throw at them. Little
did I know it would teach me the same. To this day, when I feel like
giving in, I charge San Juan Hill one more time.
That’s
the reason there is a blue dragonfly on my left elbow: physically.
Meta-physically:
In
several cultures, the Dragonfly represents adaptability. The ability
to move as forces dictate and adjust to their influences. The
dragonfly is also a symbol of water. Thus the Chinese character it
rests upon. Water, is also adaptable. It also perseveres. If you
doubt that, just look at the Grand Canyon. Water
also finds it’s level, it seeks calm. Much like the lake we paddled
across.
This
is the only tattoo, of the three I currently have, that can be seen.
I want it to be. I reminds me of a time in my past that I will
always cherish. And given the changes in my personal and professional
life, it reminds me to adapt and persevere. It
also reminds me to seek calm.
Don’t
get me wrong, my other tattoos have meaning to me as well. This one,
however, holds a lot more.
