Archive for April, 2010
Relationships Are Work But Worth Every Minute
It’s not easy being a dad to teenagers. After 15 years of marriage and two sons I’ve learned a thing or two about patience. For most of my life, I’ve allowed my art or my business to lead my ego. I defined myself by what I did and was damn proud of it. I loved women but did not have the patience to try to understand what they wanted from me.
All that changed when I learned the lessons of the great philosopher Woody Allen. There are two Woody Allen quotes that keeps coming up whenever I think about relationships, the first, “Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.” speaks to me on many levels; I do need to be there for the people I love. If you are there when they need you half the battle is won. I’ve tried to impart this bit of wisdom to my 14 year old but he keeps asking me “who is Woody Allen?”
The other favorite saying of Woody is quoted from the movie Annie Hall; “A relationship, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”
That one says it all. If you are in a romantic relationship and expect the magic of love to take you through the eventual crisis, you are only fooling yourself. Love is a feeling commitment is the glue in any relationship. If there is no desire to unconditionally support each other, there is not going to be much relating.
The fact is that people change constantly; it’s part of life. The commitments we make to each other can be liberating or a prison sentence. The way we handle the feeling is going to depend on our philosophical and psychological outlook on life. My sons have no clue who they will settle down with. To them, girls are a mystery with illogical needs that get in the way of their video game time. I felt that way until I met the person who I was willing to work for.
We make the commitment every day to each other because we have no illusions about the outcome. We’ve watched our friends get married and divorce for a variety of reasons. What stands out as major breakdowns were the fact that they were not always there for each other (they did not show up) and they let life get in the way of their relationship (the shark stopped swimming).
Regardless of the relationship you are in, just realize that it takes work to keep it going. Never take it for granted that the other person will be alive tomorrow; they won’t always do what you want or say the right things but if you value them, and let them know by your actions, they will respect you for it.
When I talk to my older teenager about women and relationships, I still mention Woody Allen; certainly not as a roll model but as a messenger. Relationships require work, when they are good, they are worth every minute of effort.
Decorate Yourself with Body Art for Beauty
If you are interested in personal expression, then you might be interested in using body art as a way of outwardly expressing your personality. Body art is very common in all cultures around the world. In fact, in many cultures, body art is used to show authority and courage and as part of traditional ceremonies dating back thousands of years.
What has body art got to do with beauty? Did you know that there are two particular types of body art you can get for beauty reasons?
Firstly you have the tattoo. The wearer of a tattoo often believes that their skin is the canvas, and it has works of art on it. Some people get fashionable tattoos such as Celtic bands, geometric patterns or Chinese symbols. Other people may want to pay tribute to lost love ones or celebrate the birth of their child with a highly personal tattoo. People of all races, religions, demographics and countries have tattoos. The guy in a suit you are sitting across from in a boring meeting may well have a tattoo of a snake on his back, or the librarian renewing your book may have a rose on her ankle. Tattoos have been popular for centuries and are likely to remain popular as long as human expression is alive and well.
You can get cosmetic tattoos. The most popular of these are permanent makeup. You can get eyebrow tattoos in place of real hair, or you could go for a permanent lip coloring. This is popular among people who like to look good all the time but want a low maintenance way to make themselves up.
Over at Home Beauty Network, expert beauty authors discuss not only body art but various other kinds of beauty treatments. It can be very interesting keeping up with the latest beauty trends, and getting tips on beauty treatments such as body art that you may not have considered in the past.