Black's Beach

I lie on the hot sand
Face turned to the side
Arms above my head
The sun beating down on my back

I hear the murmurs
Of people talking
Over the roar of the ocean
As I drift into semi-consciousness

I crack an eye open
See the sweat glisten
As it seeps from my arm
A little rivulet in the crook of my elbow

I love it here
It's peaceful and serene
This beach is special
The happy place I've been looking for

Children Without Clothes

The Political Naturist has a nice blog post on a New York Times article, "When Do They Need a Fig Leaf?"

The Meaning of Life

Roger Cohen has a wonderful article in the New York times on The Meaning of Life.

Now that's why nudists/naturists do what we do! There's no question it improves our quality of life.

Social Expectations

It's amazing how much we do because of society's expectations. I just got done with a couple of weeks that have left me exhausted because of social obligations that resulted in my having to do more in those two weeks than I should have had to. When I look back, it was as if I was living through my regular life, while adding another in parallel. And why did I do it? Because it was expected of me. What if I hadn't done all of it? Well, there were friendships that could have been ruffled.

Keeping my nudism silent is similar. Why do I have to keep it under wraps? Because of the potential social consequences! The argument for following society's agenda is that we shouldn't be living our lives selfishly, performing tasks that benefit only ourselves. On the other hand, a lot of what we do is unnecessary and is not selfless, since we begrudge what we do. If we follow our hearts, and interact empathetically with people who come into our lives, what we do will be selfless and will be done out of love, not obligation. If we all followed our hearts, I suspect we'd move towards a balance that will be better for all of us; the world would be a better place.

What a Lovely Day!

Today was an abbreviated but satisfying day at the beach. I took an extra-long lunch break and made it down to Black's. I met a few of the Black's Beach Bares, and a wonderful couple from Arizona. My stay was short - I spent just an hour and a half there - but it was absolutely terrific, if a bit warmer than it's been. I'm still on a high from it.

Today, as I lay on the sand, I was thinking about how I'd like my life to be. I realized that it's really close to where I want it to be, it just needs a little tweaking. I think we spend too much of our time worrying about what's wrong, instead of enjoying what's right. This trip to Black's is a good example - I could have fretted about not being able to be there for the whole day, but instead I enjoyed the time I did spend there. The calmness to see things clearly comes from meditation, which I really should start practicing regularly, or from being a nudist. Lying on Black's, or sitting at the water's edge as it washes over me, is truly a meditative experience!

Getting Back on Track

It's interesting how one event can push you so far off track that it takes a little therapy to get back on track. My visit to Vegas left my mind all askew. Without going too far into my history, let me just say that I have a history of problems with sex - it used to be that I'd get a yearning for sex where it would build up to a point where it controlled my daily life. I've been "good" for a while, but the Vegas trip and all it entailed threw me for a bit of a loop. So, today I sought naturism therapy ...

There's nothing to me as therapeutic as going to the nude beach, relaxing on the sand and swimming in the water. Today was a lovely day with a clear blue sky. I took a long lunch break and went down to Black's Beach. There were a larger number of people than usual for the middle of the day as a result of the great weather. I put my sunblock on, lay down for a bit, then went for a swim, ate the lunch that I'd brought with me, then lay down for a little longer than earlier and just reelllaaaaxxxxxeeeeeeddddddd! I got up after a while with my head now back in order and went for another swim to wash off the sand - I love to lie down directly on the sand with my towel only under my head. I body surfed and caught a few nice waves, then wiped up, headed to the trail, wore my shorts and t-shirt and got back to work for a productive afternoon!

Ahhh! Naturism therapy!

Nude is the Opposite of Sexy!

Nude beaches make an interesting contrast with textile beaches. On nude beaches, even if you see someone who has a "great" body, it doesn't elicit the same kind of reaction as seeing a "great" body on a textile beach does. On textile beaches, the clothing someone wears is the biggest indication of intention, of where one stands on the sexiness scale (or thinks he or she stands), and of the perception of the wearer by others. On a nude beach we're all equal, all there as we are, accepting of everyone and the sexiness factor disappears rapidly when one first experiences social nudism.

I was in Las Vegas, a city I dislike but where I had to go for an event, and I realized when looking at the way people dressed that without clothes, the city would lose it's appeal. All I had to do when I saw someone dressed to impress was imagine them without clothes, and they were suddenly very normal. The clothes they were wearing made it easy to see what their bodies were really like, so this was easy to do! Before I really got into nudism, when I tried the same exercise (which I admit I did), the result was very difficult. The assumption was that the "enhancements" that clothes made to their figures would stay even if they weren't wearing those clothes.

When I look back, I've had similar reactions when I first saw someone naked - there was an assumption of how they looked without clothes, and then when that assumption was negated, there was a subconscious negative reaction. There was a lack of acceptance that we're all different, and all beautiful in that difference.

The Political Naturist has been covering the problems that Jasmine Trail Nudist Resort in North Carolina is going through. It's possible for the DA to make nudism an issue only because the general population hasn't tried social nudism. If they had, they would realize that it's far less sex-related than the behavior you see on a regular textile beach.

If you haven't tried social nudism, you have to for your mental health!

Why Nudism/Naturism?

The main reason I'm into nudism/naturism is psychological. For me, nudism is calming. I find it so easy to get into a meditative state when I'm nude. In addition, social nudity - as in visiting the nude beach - changed the way I look at others. I had a tendency to look at a body first and miss the face, and somehow being nude with others took that away. I now look at faces first, and I must say, faces are so much more interesting!

Here's a link I found to a wonderful article that talks about the calmness of being nude. It's a bit of a Zen article, in that it's subtle, yet illustrative: The Political Naturist: The Naturism of Rising Sun Farm in River Falls, Wisconsin

I suspect I'll talk about the mental aspects of nudism more as time goes by.