Tattoo #12 – Kenya: One Night, One Symbol, One Reset

It was hard leaving Mauritius.

No, scratch that. It was soul-wrenching.

Mauritius wasn’t just a beautiful island; it was a spiritual checkpoint in my story. The kind of place that leaves a piece of itself inside you. And you leave a piece of yourself behind too.

There was a quiet beach near the airport. Cindy and I went there early that morning. Our final farewell. We stood with our feet in the warm ocean, not to swim, just to feel. I dipped my hand into the water, and as I pulled it out, I whispered goodbye.

I had to. Like a main character saying farewell to a master or a sacred village before continuing the quest. Because that's what it was. Mauritius wasn’t the end...it was the turning point.

You think I went back to Omaha after that?
No way.
You think this anime just fades to black?
Absolutely not.

This journey had another arc in store.

Next Stop: Kenya – The 24-Hour Power-Up

We landed in Nairobi, Kenya for a 26-hour layover. Enough time to unlock the next tattoo.

Cindy had arranged a surprise for us. An African treehouse-style Airbnb, hidden in the lush wild. It felt like being dropped into a Studio Ghibli film. Birds overhead. Winding wooden stairs. Mosquito nets flowing like magic curtains.

Even if I had no plans in Nairobi, I could’ve spent the whole time just breathing there. But I did have plans. Big ones.

I had already booked a tattoo artist. One of the best Nairobi had to offer. I’d been messaging him since the airport lounge in Mauritius, just to lock it in. Only one problem...

He asked what design I wanted.
And I’d totally forgotten to decide.

I had been so caught up in turning 30, the emotions of time and mortality, the romance, the mountaintop, the luxury... I hadn't figured out what the next tattoo would be.

So I pulled out my phone, leaned back in a leather airport chair, and searched my soul through Google.

Then...I saw it.
A symbol that looked like a musical note or calligraphy. A single curl, simple and graceful.
I clicked on it. What did the symbol mean:

"Hakuna Matata!"

The Symbol of Peace – A Legendary Phrase

We all know the phrase thanks to The Lion King, but the symbol?
It’s lesser known, used by Swahili-speaking communities, especially in Kenya and Tanzania.

It means:
“No worries.”
“Don’t stress.”
“It’ll be okay.”

To me, it meant something even deeper.

After Tattoo #11, I was carrying heavy emotional weight. The kind of introspection that stirs your soul and fogs your mind. I needed a recalibration. Not a distraction—but a balancing force.

"Hakuna Matata" was that force. When I made the decision, I even told myself “I’ll be alright”.

Stress management isn’t just important. It’s survival. I’ve learned that firsthand. I’ve seen the gray hairs creep in on others we lead very stressful lives. I remembered how Obama aged 20 years in only 8 years in office. I’ve seen what pressure does to the body, the heart, the soul. And after reflecting so hard on time and mortality, this tattoo brought me back to the middle ground.

Back to zero.
Back to peace.

The Tattoo – A Reminder to Let Go

That night, we went to the artist’s studio. Let me tell ya’ll it was lively and busy and I was worried being there with a woman. Because this wasn’t a solo tattoo, this was going to be a couples tattoo. You see since Mauritius, Cindy followed in my steps on got a tattoo. It seems my hobby started to become her hobby. Can I blame her? I think I have a pretty cool hobby. Luckily, we had the nicest driver possible. He insisted on staying with us and keeping us in the car until the artist came down and escorted us to his shop. Welcome to Kenya. Cindy was extremely nervous. But we met our artist with no issues. We sat down and he smiled when I showed him the symbol.

He said, “Perfect choice. Most don’t even know it has a real symbol.”

The ink was calm. Steady. Intentional.
No noise. No chaos.
Just breath, silence, and truth.

And when it was done, I looked at it, and felt lighter. Not euphoric—lighter. Like letting go of a burden I didn’t know I was carrying. Tattoo #12 was sealed in ink!

We went out that night to a quiet rooftop bar in Nairobi. The skyline flickered like the stars were trying to come down to Earth. We drank slow, no rush. Laughed deep, no filter. Listened to music that blended African rhythms with modern soul.

The Meaning – Hakuna Matata as a Philosophy

This wasn’t just a tattoo for me. This was a spiritual reset button.

Stress management is one of the most underappreciated superpowers. We glamorize hustle. We overvalue burnout. But peace? Peace is priceless.

And peace doesn’t mean ignorance. It means choosing where your energy goes.
It means knowing what’s in your control, and releasing what isn’t.
It means not letting stress rob you of the time you just told yourself was precious.

Tattoo #12 reminded me of this:

"Hakuna Matata isn’t just a phrase. It’s a technique."

It’s the anime moment where the protagonist gets knocked down by life, takes a deep breath, remembers who they are, and rises again—stronger, focused, and balanced.

That’s what this tattoo gave me.

Final Thoughts

If Tattoo #11 was my internal scream—
Then Tattoo #12 was the calm that followed.
If Tattoo #11 was a mountain—
Then Tattoo #12 was the ocean.
If Tattoo #11 was the weight of mortality—
Then Tattoo #12 was a reminder to smile anyway.

No worries. No regrets. Just peace.
Let’s keep going.