Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Nudist Lifestyle or Naturist Philosophy?

I don't get it.  What is this nudist "lifestyle" the media and people talk about?  To me, being nude alone and with others is like riding a motorcycle.  You can try it, it's nice, but maybe it's not your thing.  For others, it's liberating and sensual to ride without all that glass and metal around you.  Perhaps you ride simply because it's practical.  You go to work, you come home.  When it's rainy or cold out, you drive your car.  Other than that, it's just an option.

But maybe you find it a wonderful option when it's available to you.  You ride with friends at times, enjoying nice winding roads to a nice destinations together.  But you don't forsake other things you like doing, to do that.  You might live where everyone rides and that's the norm, but it's still OK if other's don't ride.

For other's it's a theme.  You have to have the right bike, the right paint job, the right clothes, the right tattoos, the right friends, the right bar, the right bling, and the right home.  You, sir or ma'am are a biker and you're expected to look and act like one.  Never mind the fact that it all started with you just enjoying riding a motorcycle sometimes instead of a car.  You're living the biker lifestyle and you have responsibilities to maintain and develop that lifestyle.

That's what some people think nudists do.  That we are "that way", and "that way" permeates, defines, and rules our lives.  I don't know about you, but preferring to be nude whenever I can be doesn't describe or define me.  It just simply IS me.

A few years ago when my wife and I were driving across the northwest US and we spent spent a couple of days at a small nudist club along the way.  A young couple was there with their large family and a beat up bus they were travelling and living in.  The father had been working on the bus and he was head to toes a greasy, oily, mess.  My wife thought it weird the he worked nude that way.  But as anyone who has worked under cars on a messy job knows, the oil and grease are going to soak through your clothes anyway, and at least nude you might have some opportunities to wipe some of it off, instead of living in soaked clothes that way the whole day.

My point is, was he living the nudist "lifestyle" or simply living his life nude when he could, just doing what he would otherwise normally do?

The counterpoint is, was he, and do I, believe in a naturist philosophy where being nude is not only a more practical way to be when you can get away with it, but a better choice for oneself and others when it makes sense?  Even if it most of the time it does make sense, but you can't accommodate it?

For me, it does make sense.  It's the right thing to do and the right thing to welcome others to do.  Be yourself.  Look like yourself.  Enjoy being what you are.  Accept and welcome others simply as they are.  Be glad you're human.  Enjoy being part of nature and this world.  Take care of yourself, help others, and be responsible to the world you've been privileged to live in.

That's not a lifestyle.  It's a philosophy of life that in many ways is no different than for others who for some strange reason, keep their clothes on.  Except that keeping your clothes on is stupid.