"What goes on?"

i have a tattoo on the side of my foot that says, "it goes on..." it's from a Robert Frost quote.

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

it's a little bit faded now and needs a few touch ups, but that is besides the point. that will be done with time, i'm not worried...it's not like its going anywhere. ;)

as with tattoos, it's normal to get a lot of people asking what it means or what significance it has to you. Some people ask that of me when they first see my tattoo, but more often i get the question: "What goes on?" I used to hastily reply with, "Well it's part of a quote by Robert Frost...." But i realized that doesn't really answer the question they are asking me (although most people would be satisfied with that response, which shows something else about people....i'll save that rant for another day).

i fell in love with this quote at a time in my life where i was stuck in a low place that i had no idea how to get out of. it was rough and it was scary and i would consider myself very very lost. i had completely lost touch with reality and myself and everything around me. i stumbled across this at some point during that state of mind, and for some reason it really hit home with me. it helped me change my attitude and my way of interacting with the rest of the world.

since then, i've used this quote in my life in many occasions. i feel that it is applicable in pretty much any situation, positive or negative (people can just as easily get too caught up in the "good things" that happen in life), but it is ultimately applied in cases where stress is high or there is a perceived loss of "control" in life.

so what goes on? the easiest response i can give is LIFE. life goes on. you can choose to sit in your single state of mind and watch the world continue on its course, or you can continue on with life and move on and learn from what you've experienced. this is not to demoralize something like grieving - that is a necessary part of human behavior - but in grieving you are learning as well.

but i can only tell you what my tattoo means to me. to you, it may have a different meaning. its meaning is relative to where you are at in your life. sometimes it may apply just to a specific situation, but eventually you will realize how encompassing three simple words may be. i think thats part of the appeal to me, that such ordinary and simple words can be so open-ended and be interpreted in so many different ways. i can't tell you that this quote is specific to one aspect of my life. it exists in relation to almost everything i do. this quote literally means everything to me. everything goes on, with or without you, and i choose to believe its better to go along and experience the world than to sit and watch it all pass you by.

its on my foot for a reason too. it is my feet that carry me forward out of the past. they are what keep me from being stuck in the present. and they will lead me into the future. it goes on...so i will as well.