Monday, September 21, 2009

Zen and Nudism

I've been re-reading Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. The book is a must read for anyone even remotely interested in the subject. The author is a former Punk Rocker, works in Japan making monster movies, and is a Zen Teacher in Japan. He presents a hilarious and wonderfully irreverent look at Zen.

Quoting from pg 55,
Every single human being in the world at some time thinks that "if only" this or that one of our conditions could be met then we'd be all set. ... Think again.
...
We always want to believe that somewhere there's a perfect situation, if only we weren't barred from it. But that's not the reality.
...
Maybe your lot right now could be improved. I know mine could. And working to make things better is great. But we don't just work to make things better and leave it at that, do we? We live in the idealized world inside our heads. And that keeps us from ever really enjoying what we have right now ...


It's not a new concept, but it got me to thinking about those of us who have family that don't approve of our inclination for nudism, how that plays on our minds, and the potential for unhappiness as a result of it. We do have the freedom and potential to change the situation, but we may be reluctant to do so. The reluctance most likely stems from a decision we've made based on priorities we've set ourselves - the decision that the circumstances that prevent us from pursuing our particular interest (e.g. nudism) is not worth losing something else (e.g. family).

If we don't fret, but keep working on creating more situations to experience nudism, and enjoy what opportunities pop up in our daily lives while we work on getting to where we would like to be, we'll be a lot happier and a lot more at peace.

This also applies to nudism, and life, in general. With the restrictions that are placed on our lifestyle by society, it can get frustrating, but if we enjoy what we do have we'll be better off for it. That doesn't mean we accept the restrictions if we don't want to. We must constantly work towards where we would like to be, but we must live in the current moment. If we live in the future, we may very well discover when we get there that the future is not what we had hoped for and, even if it is what we hoped for, we needlessly wasted the time we spent waiting to get there.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Balancing Act

I haven't been able to make it to the beach the past three weekends and I'm really waiting for this weekend to come around so I can make my way to Black's Beach.

I have often wondered what it is that compels me to get my regular fix of Black's. I get to spend some part of the day nude at home, so I do get a partial fix almost every day, but that hasn't proven very satisfactory. Is social nudism the necessary ingredient? It could be that since my home is an environment that's not fully supportive or accepting of nudism, nudism at home results in relaxation with a hint of tension. Maybe it's the feeling of complete relaxation at the beach that makes it so special. Or maybe it's just the people - being with people who are open-minded and willing to accept you for what you are, warts and all!

It would be wonderful to live in a world where clothes were optional, whether at home, or work, or play. However, we have to balance what we have with what we need. How does one find that balance without driving oneself insane? There's no easy answer to that question. We live in a constantly changing world and requires continuous evaluation of where we are and where we want to go, and a continuous search for the right balance. Just like everything we deal with in life!