On the Canadian prairies, it gets cold in the month of August, especially on those mornings on either side of a full moon. This morning’s temperature was 4 Celsius. As we sat watching dawn approach from our love seat, looking out at the prairie hills in the distant, we saw what looked like mist just at the base of the hills. It reminded both of us of the expression, “frost in low lying areas.
Because it is still August, the temperature is supposed to warm up to 23 C with sunny skies. We’ll definitely take advantage of the sun and the temperatures when we take our usual walk down gravelled country roads. There will be no free-hiking today as that is something I do when I hike alone.
Yesterday I picked three five-gallon pails of crab apples which will have to go to the community compost pile just outside of town. I will again pick today leaving the apples at the top of the tree for the birds. The intention is to pick enough to eat, and prevent our lawn from becoming a slick compost zone of rotting crab apples.
It’s my second full day back at home. Selling books is good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to being able to spent time with my wife, or to enjoy my home and yard without too much worry or need for clothing. Naturism seems to focus on the issue of clothing, something that is essential to the definition of the word. Yet, we can get too caught up in nakedness and lose sight of the larger experience of transparency and authenticity.
When you think about it, nudity is quite simple. If weather and conditions permit, then one can choose to be naked. Otherwise, clothing becomes essential. Living on the Canadian prairies teaches one the value of clothing in a hurry as summer approaches autumn.
Of course, for many, it might just be about nudity. For me, there is another dimension. Shedding clothing is almost a religious act, or perhaps more spiritual than religious. I think here of how meditation involves both body and spirit. Walks in the countryside involve both mind and body.
One learns to be present within one’s body rather than trying to escape the body to live only in the mind. Even doing dishes can become a “mindful” act where one knows and senses the body while performing a task. I used to do dishes in the past where my mind was frequently elsewhere. My body was on autonomous function not needing any thought at all. As long as I didn’t spill water on my clothing, nothing drew my attention to the fact that I had a body while washing dishes, well other than water temperature when the water got cold.
My wife calls the slipping away from being fully present, a journey to la-la land. I used to take many, many such journeys in the past. Now, thanks to meditation and nudity, I am rarely taking such journeys. It sure makes for a better relationship. This is who I am; an older man who is typically naked and satisfied doing little things like dishes and picking apples, a man who is honouring his body with good food and exercise, and a man who at home in the inner psyche. This is my reality.