As usual, I was up to greet the day while it was still dark out. As I was sitting by the fireplace nursing my second cup of coffee I saw the sky gradually begin to lighten. And then I saw a sliver of the moon with the rest of the moon barely visible in shadow. There was no mistaking that what I saw was the whole circular surface of the moon and that retaught me that though one can’t see something, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. That’s not an easy lesson for those who can only believe what they see.
Too many are imprisoned with their handbag filled with their incontrovertible truths. If their five primary senses don’t align with what is clutched desperately as fundamental truth, then it is obviously false. When the senses tell someone one story and science tells them a different story, science generally is set aside. Though not everyone sees, hears, smells, tastes, or feels the same, meaning that their sensory input cannot be trusted, does not deter them from fervently believing otherwise.
Yet, there is a back door for truths to be embedded, through the subconscious. Advertising and mass media, and trusted groups such as religions, repeat messages to the point where the messages are then held as truths. Tell a lie often enough, then it is held closely as a personal and collective truth.
So what does this have to do with naturism? Everything. People gravitate to naturism because of a number of reasons including sensory pleasure. However, most don’t. The power of the collective unconscious that has been pummelled with negative imaging for centuries upon centuries, is enormous. Should one see a nude human, the first response is surprise, then fear, and then anger. That initial response can be broken down over time for some people. And that, is the motivation for the #NormalisingNaturism movement.
And just a footnote: Yes, the temperature was below freezing this morning when I took this photo. For many this would too much for their senses to handle. For myself, it wasn’t unpleasant in the least as there was no wind. Different bodies, different responses to the same stimuli.