Buck Naked
The human form has inspired many artists and writers over the millennia, and yet, humans are the only species that have found it necessary to work hard to drape that form with coverings and clothing. From our perusal of the pages of National Geographic when we were young and rooting around in the basement, we learned that primitive man seemed less inclined to cover the human form as much as we in civilized society chose to do. We saw tribes of savages from the Amazon or places like Papua New Guinea clothed only scantily in loin cloths with women unabashedly baring their breasts. We reasoned that they lived in tropical climes and as such needed to keep their bodies as cool and unobstructed as possible. But then again, their hard lives made it so that pretty much every body was similar with sinewy limbs and torsos and very little variation among them. The elderly died young in the harsh environment so there was a uniformity of body that left little to differentiate and therefore little to hide from one another. Even when we ventured out of the jungle and away from the primitives that carried spears and arrows, we found poorer people in less developed areas allowing their children to run naked in the streets with the view that children that were pre-pubescent had little to hide and even less reasons to hide it. Boys had dangly bits and girls had slightly puffy bits. Neither seemed to offend just as household pets and their physical apparatus did not offend.
But then there is modern man. He and she alone seem bound by some psychological need to shield the world from the realities of the body. The fact that women grow breasts and that men’s genitalia can differ from person to person. Add to that the evolutionary tendency to have human specialization that sets some to great physical labor and others to less arduous work, with the outcome that gets reflected in the shape and conditioning of the body in the manner most inverse to the ease of existence. People with more cerebral pursuits that do not toil for hours each day become softer and rounder and those that must scrabble stay leaner and harder. The primordial tendency to favor the lean and hard for reasons of the likelihood of survival remain and give rise from the ruling and idle classes to cover their bodies for modesty and shame. I’m sure it began with covering to protect against the harshness of nature and weather, but its added purpose for the preservation of dignity remained. Clothing then became an important differentiator of status with those of higher station sporting more and more finery to set them apart and allow their and visiting worlds to understand where the power resided. Of course, some protection came along with clothing in the extremes of battle, but we can probably agree that battle, while perhaps more routine than today, was still a small part of the time one spent amongst others. Somewhere in there, the human need for differentiation also interjected itself and the flair aspect of clothing began. Clothing became a statement of ideals more than need or modesty. Taken to extreme, some modern clothing goes so far as to titillate by exposing parts of the body that would otherwise normally remain under wraps. Man also found that clothing can not only disguise deficiencies, but it may also tell a false narrative of physical prowess by construction that accentuates the grandness of physique.
Somewhere along the way, thinking man determined that a return to the natural order through nudism might have value. I think it is fair to say that nudism, while titillating to most in polite society, is still a fringe endeavor that is relegated to the ranks of bohemians that are few in number and who must find places of isolation where they can practice in peace. There is nothing more disruptive to nudists, I imagine, than a clothed person among them. This reminder of the norms of society disturbs the serenity of the experience and rattles the karmic aura of the scene.
I live in relative isolation on this hilltop. Our neighbors to either side are well-shielded from us by some combination of boulders and vegetation. The other homes are then quite distant, generally either a meaningful distance down the hill in whatever direction one chooses or off on some distant opposing hill. While some might have telescopic access to my privacy, I have the same ability and yet almost never indulge. This is less due to respect and propriety than to the paucity of anything much to see. So, let it suffice to say that we have a very private hilltop where the specific resting areas like the patio, the hot tub, the deck and the garden enjoy added privacy by the nature of their layout and immediate surroundings. This is especially so for the hot tub, which is set down from the patio amongst three large boulders, all fringed with various forms of succulents and other plantings. It is truly an oasis and is peaceful and set apart from the world while being fully connected to the world and the sky above. It is a perfect place to avail oneself of the ability to bath in the warm waters of the spa with no clothes. From the edge of the tub I can see over the boulders towards the road while knowing that I cannot be seen. I can see the driveway parking area and thus can see if anyone arrives unexpectedly. Furthermore, the exit from the spa is even more protected from all but the nearest spots on the patio, which are easily monitored to insure privacy. In other words, if one wanted a place to go buck naked, it is about as perfect a place as you can imagine.
I am a modern man when it comes to clothing. I have always felt that while it need not make a statement about who I am, it does have the value of modesty that comes from being more corpulent than normal. Those issues of modesty were strong in my youth and have gradually lessened with age and confidence. We all learn to embody our confidence in our accomplishments over time, less because we seek out advantage and more because we have simply lived the life we have and are either proud of it or not. I am satisfied with my accomplishments and thus I feel I have little to prove to anyone. If someone wants to feel superior by virtue of his or her physicality, so be it, they are allowed. The locker room is no longer daunting to me nor does it feel like an area where dominance is achieved. The dangly bits that are the focus of so much in youth are simply less relevant in older age. We have less to prove and feel less shame and shyness for the most part. It is not unlike going to the hospital. At first we are very modest, but after a course of treatment or extended stay, our bodies are simply a vessel that needs repair and it is all what it is.
I find there to be few activities that feel more natural and liberating that having a warm afternoon on my hilltop when I have accomplished something during the day that needed doing (whether cerebral or physical), and when I can wrap a towel around myself and go out to the privacy of my hot tub and spend an hour buck naked sitting in the hot tub checking emails or listening to a podcast. Relaxing in the warm water is pleasant, but the best part of the event is finishing with an outdoor shower. Doing something that is supposed to be done indoors and doing it outdoors just makes everything so very refreshing on many levels. I recommend you find some way and place to get buck naked and comfortable with yourself and preferably do it out of doors amongst nature. Its the only way to feel completely free.