This WILL be a Happy Nude Year!

This is a fairly long post, and at first glance it may seem to have nothing to do with the title of the post ... but stick with my long-winded thought process ...

2009 was a year of transformation for me. At the beginning of 2009, my mind was a mess. I had hit an all-time low personally and professionally. From the outside, things might have looked the same as they always had - I lived in the same house with the same family, I interacted with mostly the same folks, and I worked at the same job. But internally, it all came crashing down. One year later, at the beginning of 2010, my life is looking better than it ever has!

As part of the transformation, I discovered who I really am. I discovered that I really do like simplicity, I really do want to leave a small footprint, I really am a vegetarian, I like to read a lot, I am comfortable with quietness, I function best when I have routine in my life - from meditating and exercising regularly to sleeping early and getting up early - and I really am a nudist. I sometimes wondered if some of these were just silly notions, but now I know that they are really who I am. Discovering, embracing, and accepting who I really am has given me peace of mind and calmness. As a result I also have a better relationship with my family and I am more productive at work.

A few good friends, and many good books helped me through this year. A couple of books had an especially large influence on my transformation - The Three Marriages by David Whyte and Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. I read them both twice in 2009, and didn't get bored the second time around!

I also started to write in 2009. I had intense feelings that I just had to express, and decided to do so in a journal. To my surprise, they came out as poems. I had never written poetry, and had never thought myself capable of it, but there is was to my surprise. I also started writing this blog.

2009 started with sickness; not your normal definition of mental sickness, but it was sickness all the same. Let's just say I had a problem with all kinds of relationships - with others, with my work and with myself. Nudism turned was the key to my recovery. Initially, there was one problem with it - the problem of acceptance by my family. Patience and perseverance has finally led to their acceptance, and that's why I think 2010 is going to be a Happy Nude Year! On the 3rd of January, I went to Black's Beach for the first time with no reservations on their part, and it was a more beautiful and peaceful feeling than ever before.

The future seems bright and clear since the present is the only thing that really matters. Here's to many happy days at the beach, and continuous progress!

More Zen Than Nudism!

Sometimes things slow you down
Whether it's work or play
You try to keep moving on
But circumstances force you to stay

When things get bad, realize this
It usually comes from something
You can't get, it starts to bug you
Like objections to your lack of clothing

At times like these, take a deep breath
Don't worry about future or past
Right now, live in this moment
It will go fast, it will not last

To further expand on my previous post on Zen and Nudism ... Nudism gave me peace of mind and helped me get past some of the mental blocks that were holding me back. And then ... when the objections to my nudism came fast and furious (literally!), I had to make choices. The choice I made resulted in restrictions to my nudist lifestyle and that started to get me down. I know - and knew - that I myself had made that choice, but every now and then I couldn't help thinking that it would be perfect if I could have it both ways.

The thought of having it both ways plays a number on my mind. I start to live in the future, and miss out on the present. But the present is our only reality. I would squander away minutes, hours or days of my life before I snapped out of it. And that's where Zen has helped me. Meditation gives me the stability that I seek and the ability to see things the way they are, to see reality for what it is. Having goals and a vision for the future is good, because it prevents me from drifting, but living in that future is a waste of time. I find it easy to intellectually understand the concept of living in the moment, but difficult to live my life by it. Meditation gives me that ability.

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