Tuesday, February 1, 2011

To Stop. And Get Naked.

I've been living alone for two months now. Before this, I was living with family or roommates, and at one point in Europe--my boss. Sounds weird, but we were like a big "family". When you live with people, you uphold to certain rules. You try not to walk around naked, you shut the door to the bathroom, you don't eat your dinner right out of the pan because you don't want to dirty a dish, you try and pick up your shoes from cluttering the front room.

When you live alone, it's a quiet introspection to the things you tend to do and what it means. I tend to walk around naked a bit more, if even just dashing to one room to the other to get clean clothes. I don't do the naked thing often, because I'm not really happy being naked. I start criticizing. I think we all do that.

Funny thing is that I am friends with A LOT of hippies. And they like to hang out naked. When they go camping, they find a secluded spot and get naked. When we go hiking to a lake, they all take their clothes off and hop in the lake to go swimming. I NEVER do this. I don't get naked around others. I think I want to. Just to see what it feels like. Other cultures grow up in such close quarters that families are very used to seeing each other naked. My friends from Finland--because it's so cold there--say that they grow up seeing their friends (male and female) naked all the time in the daily trips to the saunas. When I saw people naked and topless on the beaches of Europe, I would say that 3% of them ACTUALLY had what we might call "perfect" bodies. Many of them had tummys and thighs and saggy breasts and they didn't care. Heck, I don't really care when I see it either. It's the body. Why be so programed for perfection.

So, I have a goal this year. Somehow. I want to go skinny dipping somewhere and with someone. It might have to be in the dark this year, but I want to do it.

Have you had experiences being naked in a group setting?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Yes. I used to go to this all women's bath house (not open anymore :( and swimsuits were not allowed in the saunas or baths. I got used it. I've also gotten naked in a group with men and women, to put white make-up on the whole body for a butoh performance. Of course, they were all dancers. We all just stripped and did it. I remember the first time doing that I was super critical of myself more than what other people thought. It's crazy what the mind does! I'm definitely not a nudist-type, but for certain occasions, I'll go buff.

Michelle said...

i lived with 5 girls and a hut tub. it was inevitable that we would strip down on occasion. i got used to it.

marriage really helps being comfortable naked, too.