UPDATE: I might have been a little grumpy when I wrote this page the first time...I've been more informative and useful this time, see below the old stuff :)

   Does it mean anything? Yes. What a dumb question to ask about a visible tattoo.

   What language is it? Futhorc. Read about it HERE.

   What does it mean? Glad you asked.

•    Love
•    Ignore what others think
•    Very little goes to plan
•    Expand your own limits
•    Your friends are everything
•    Only the dead stop learning
•    Understand your faults
•    Remember the scout law
•    Laugh
•    Improve yourself eternally
•    Forgive, but dont forget
•    Enemies and hate are useless

Is there more to it? Yes. But I'm not telling.

Ok, Telling Now

So, some explainations of the phrases.

• Love:   I think this one is self explainitory...But *just* in case, Love your friends, your family, give love freely, don't close yourself to love, and so on.
• Ignore what others think:   Not their ideas and opinions, thse you should weigh the value of and decide, but do ignore their judgements and assumptions about you. Don't not do something because *someone* will think your stupid or childish.
• Very little goes to plan:   Never assume things will go smoothly, don't plan for the worst, but consider your options if it does. Generally, don't plan so much as keep a running account of your goals, dreams, and current options. Picture life as a whole series of randon paths that frequently part and merge as you travel towards your goal. You just want to get there, so enjoy a detour or two and don't give up when you have to deviate.
• Expand your own limits:   My limits are not yours. Jen and Ashley are amazing at medical knowledgey stuff, I'm not...I'm happy with first aid, but expanding into EMR or MFR would be a good thing. That being said, don't set artificial limits, you can always improve, or branch out, or tangent! (Hiking -> Scrambling -> Climbing -> Ice Climbing -> Slacklining!)
• Your friends are everything:   "Your friends are family you choose" Friends expand your limits, support you, push you, pull you, find dates for you, ask for help, and serve you ice cream when your completely loopy and messed up from pain killers. Hopefully you end up marrying your best friend.
• Only the dead stop learning:   Ie If you know everything, or are curious about nothing, you might as well be dead. Learning keeps you smart, conversation interesting, and boredom at bay.
• Understand your faults:   Not just recognise them, but you don't have to hunt them down and fix them either. Understand what they are, where they come from, what causes them to come out, and when they are a good thing (anal retentive is good if your skydiving, but not so much when at the bar).
• Remember the scout law:   Canadian scouts say: A Scout is Helpful and trustworthy, Kind and cheerful, Considerate and clean, And wise in the use of all resources. The original 1908 law is: A Scout's honour is to be trusted, A Scout is loyal, A Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others, A Scout is a friend to all, and a brother to every other scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs, A Scout is courteous, A Scout is a friend to animals, A Scout obeys orders, A Scout smiles and whistles, A Scout is thrifty.
• Laugh:   At yourself most of all. Life is full of ironies, bloopers, and mistakes. Stress and laughter don't go together, and when you laugh at your mistakes, how can anyone else hold them against you?
• Improve yourself eternally:   Back to the other 2, but even more. Expand your limits, never stop learning, recognise your faults...Strengthen your weaknessess! You may forever be the crumbiest swimmer, but doggy paddle will keep you afloat, whereas freezing in fear will kill you very quickly.
• Forgive, but dont forget:   Don't carry a grudge, don't cut people out of your life for an insult, but always always what happened and WHY. Only if you remember will you not repeat mistakes. Always forgive yourself too. Do I feel guilt about things? Yes, but they are not going to be an anchor around my neck.
• Enemies and hate are useless:   Hate is useless, indifference or wariness is many times more productive. Dislike it, but is it really worth dwelling on? Enemies are even worse, they are counter productive because they will waste their time to make sure your life is also miserable.

The first letter of each phrase spells out a 13th phrase: LIVE YOUR LIFE
Not what your parents think you should do, not what your friends think, especially not what TV, magazines, and the media say. Think for yourself, decide for yourself. Part 2 is don't live vicariously through others, DO IT YOURSELF ALREADY!!! Part 3 is don't control or try to control others decisions and actions, it's their life, not yours. Finally it is your life, they are your decisions (or lack of), mistakes, and lessons, don't blame others for your own stupidity, accept the consequences and move on.

Lastly, Jeremy made a mistake on my tattoo...He forgot to fill in 2 tiny sections of the purple leaf pattern. I thought about getting it finished, but didn't. Why? Because being curious, I looked at the 3 letters the 'mistake' connected (across 2 levels of spiral) and I got 'L', 'R', and 'NG'...Now when you get the word 'learning' via some random mistake, how can you not enjoy the irony and deep truth?

Is there more to it? Yes. But I'm not telling ;P