Bridget Swier
Sep 1, 2018 · 6 min read

His Soule Purpose

When one hears the word courage, we often recognize it as synonymous with heroic measures or acts of valor. However, the word courage originates from the Latin word, cor-meaning, heart. In history, the word courage meant, “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” In her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, author, and researcher, Brene` Brown states, “Heroics is often about putting our life on the line. Ordinary courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. In today’s world, that’s pretty extraordinary.”

The following story displays the extraordinary courage Brown talks about.

This is a story of someone who loves deeply, despite having lost tragically. This is the story of a suicide survivor who refuses to be deterred by pain and grief.

He displays the most extraordinary kind of courage one can by exposing his story, and beautifully scarred heart, with raw honesty. He shares his story, and exposes his heart, with the kind of vulnerability that impacts the world around him in ways he could never imagine.

The clouds moving in, carrying light precipitation with them, didn’t dampen the positive energy that filled the large parking lot on the evening of June 15th. People gathered quickly to move canopies over the food and returned just as swiftly to their conversations, laughter and enjoying the live entertainment. Children and adults alike dusted their chalky hands off after finishing beautiful masterpieces of art they had just designed on the pavement.

Levi Shortbull, owner, and operator of Soule Purpose Tattoo weaves through the crowd on his yellow beach cruiser.

Being followed by smaller children, squealing in delight, the curly-haired, heavily tattooed, bearded man weaved around the parking lot on his yellow beach cruiser bicycle with just enough speed to give the children hope they could catch him. Levi Shortbull, tattoo artist and shop owner of Soule Purpose Tattoo, grinned from ear to ear as he wove through the crowd he brought together. This event was not just a grand opening of a new tattoo shop; this was a display of his Soule Purpose. Levi donated all the proceeds from this grand opening event to the Front Porch Coalition to support the fight against suicide.

Spending time with Levi, and feeling the love that radiates from him, one would not guess the trauma and tragedies he’s faced until he so openly shares them. Levi has tragically lost two siblings, a cousin, and an uncle to suicide. When Levi’s brother, Harley Soule, committed suicide in 2005 his family and friends were struck with shock and grief. “As soon as he died, everyone wanted tattoos in his memory,” explained Levi. “I had always been an artist, and I thought maybe this was something I could do for everyone. It seemed to make a difference to have something to honor my brother, Harley, on them”. Levi purchased his first tattoo gun the day after his brother’s death and started tattooing friends and family. He did not realize it then, but Levi would be headed in a different direction in his life, both professionally, and personally.

“I was really bashful about my artwork, and still kind of am” shared a humble Levi. After leaving a job in construction and welding, Levi decided to follow his gift as an artist and begin tattooing professionally. “I set a goal for myself. If I was still tattooing in seven years, and for the right reasons, I wanted to open my own shop,” stated Levi. Levi opened his first shop in under seven years in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The image of Harley Soule Shaffer (3/4/87–2/6/05), Levi’s soul purpose for beginning to tattoo.

When asked how he came up with the name, Soule Purpose, Levi shared, “I was sitting with some friends, and we needed to come up with a name. I looked up and saw the drawing of my brother, Harley. He is the soul purpose of my tattooing, and his middle name was, Soule. I think he probably had something to do with me coming up with the name”.

Levi says he recognizes how his decision to tattoo and open a shop named “Soule Purpose” helped him. “One of the most frequent questions I am asked while tattooing someone is, ‘How, or why, did you start tattooing? Or, how did you come up with the name?’ I get to talk about what I’ve gone through and all those I’ve lost to suicide while doing my work. I get to talk about Harley. It’s what saved me. It healed me to talk about it so frequently and for others to share their stories with me.” Levi shared that shortly after his brother’s death he moved away. “Years later when I moved back, my family was still hurting deeply over it, and we hadn’t talked much about it, so they were concerned about me. I realized I had healed through all the talking I did while doing my artwork. They didn’t have the chance to talk about it daily like I did.”

Being able to recognize the healing power of talking about suicide, struggles, and loss, Levi wants others to know that his shop door is always open. “I am just a guy that does tattoos, but if I can bring people together to make a difference instead of trying to separate out why someone feels a certain way, then that is my purpose and the purpose of my shop,” said Levi.

Levi said he is starting to see some of his vision for Soule Purpose come to light. “I had always talked about doing a BBQ fundraiser to bring awareness to suicide,” shared Levi. “I know people that are hurting and struggling, but they pitched in to help make my event successful. I think it gave them a productive way to make a positive difference.” Levi expressed with heartfelt, and deep sincerity, the responsibility he feels as a business owner to bring awareness to the epidemic of suicide.

“I have the kind of business that can bring people from all walks of life together in this town. As a community, we should be bringing more awareness to something [suicide] I still think is being pushed under the rug. We’re all in this together, and we should be focused on taking care of each other, and hopefully, by doing that, we can prevent others from hurting themselves. As business owners, we can be people helping other people.”

Levi already has ideas on how to make the next event an even more significant success. “I want to hold an all-day event, probably on a Sunday, with more music, more people, bigger exposure and the amount we donate to the Front Porch Coalition to be even bigger,” Levi said that some businesses in town have reached out to offer support at the next event. “I’d even like to see about some of the bigger businesses in town catering the event or donating auction items,” said Levi.

Inside the flesh of this heavily tattooed man is a heart that beats with courage. The kind of courage required to share with raw, honest vulnerability the wounds that scar his soul. Levi, welling with tears as he spoke shared how much it pains him to know others are hurting and taking their own lives. Levi’s choice to share his vulnerability in such a visible, audible and tangible way may not be the kind of courage we ever see in a superhero movie, but in Brown’s words, “In today’s world, that kind of courage is extraordinary!”

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