Tattoo phrase ideas:

a posse ad esse: “from being able to being” (the journey from potential to actualization)
ab imo pectore: “from the deepest chest” (from the bottom of my heart)
absit invidia: “let ill will be absent”
abyssus abyssum invocat: “deep calleth unto deep” (from psalm 42:7)
age quod agis: “do what you are doing” (being in the present moment)
alis volat propris: “she flies with her own wings”
collige virgo rosas: “pick, girl, the roses” (similar idea to carpe diem)
credo quia absurdum est: “i believe it because it is absurd”
dum spiro spero: “while i breathe, i hope”
haec olim meminisse iuvabit: “one day this will be pleasing to remember”
hic abundant leones: “here lions abound” (written on uncharted territories of old maps)
memento mori: “remember to die” (remember you are mortal)
memento vivre: “remember to live”
nec tamen consumebatur: “and yet it was not consumed” (Biblical, referring to the burning bush)
nulla dies sine linea: “not a day without a line drawn” (from Apelles, an ancient Greek artist)
sit tibi terra levis: “may the earth be light upon you” (typically funerary, but could also refer to “the weight of the world” - not sure if terra translates that way though)

Going along with my paper crane idea, I’ve been thinking about incorporating “memento mori” or “memento vivre” or both into the design since in Japanese mythology, cranes are said to live for 1000 years and are a symbol of life. Also the idea that paper is so ephemeral in the grand scheme of things, like our own lives.

But I really like all of these phrases too. I can see a lot of possibilities in all of these… bwah!