Through a Naturist Lens

In so many ways, autumn is the most beautiful seasons. The colours are a wild and vivid protest against the shifting to the barren greys and muted colours of winter in temperate climates. Thankfully, the past few days here on the Canadian prairies has warmed up to make being clothing free outdoors very pleasant.

All the garden ornaments have been taken in for the coming winter with the exception of bird baths and fountains. Birds are making good use of these due to the extended drought. It is dusty and there are no puddles to be found, nor water in most of the dust bowls that used to hold ponds.

Yesterday, I got out for a three mile hike on the prairies, a free-hike. Earlier in the day, I had walked seven miles with my wife, a walk while it was cooler where we both wore shorts. The plan for today is to go out again for another hike while the wind is down, the temperature is up, and the sun is out.

Tomorrow, it is supposed to rain. If it does rain, it will mean an unscheduled day off as the dust would too easily turn into mud. Rather than moan about a lost opportunity to walk the prairie wearing nothing but hiking footwear and a cap, I will be celebrating, hoping for the streets in town to have the potholes filled and the gutters running. We need the moisture.

I walked 176 kilometres in September. It wasn’t my best month but that is irrelevant. Of those kilometres, 44 of them were done clothing free. I am satisfied with that result. I have no idea if I will get any walking while nude in October though there is a possibility tomorrow morning if I am brave enough to head out to walk with a temperature below 10 Celsius.

This morning, I went for a 12.7 km walk with my wife. As usual when we walk together, I wore a pair of shorts, and because of low temperatures, I even wore a tee shirt.

On the writing front [and there is always a writing front] I am all over the map. I have begun to create posts about free-hiking on Medium, as well as posts about pilgrimages, teaching in China as an expat, Buddhist flavoured poetry, and some psychology items. I have published 19 articles on Medium over the past ten days. The reception has been good with 275 views and 102 people signing up to follow my account. For a brief moment, I had considered that writing here would be wasted energy as I only have 30 followers. Like I said, for a brief moment.

My account at Medium is not a Naturist account. There, I am an author, a Buddhist, a Jungian, a poet, and a pilgrim. With my posts there, all have a photo included. If there is an occasional naturist photo, I am using an app called Fotor to make the photo more publicly acceptable for readers who are otherwise uncomfortable with nudity. This is what I used for the above photo. I didn’t worry about my audience here being uncomfortable with nudity, I just thought it made for a more interesting photo, especially since my wife featured in the image was wearing shorts and a shirt.

Now, If you are interested, I encourage you to check out my writings on Medium. You might be surprised at what you will find. In addition, it’s possible that I might even be able to afford a cup of coffee at the end of October as I will get paid by Medium for having people go to my page and read various articles. The more time you spend reading, the more I will make.

Waiting for the wind to stop blowing and the sun to come out of hiding from behind thick, grey clouds. It is supposed to get nice again in the next few days, almost as if it is a return to a pleasant summer. I am now working on Chapter 9 of my novel, The Four. As well, I have opened another avenue of potential income as a writer thanks to Dan Carlson. I already have five followers and they are reading what I have put up at that portal. Who knows, it just might be worth the effort.

Talking about publishing, I seriously need to publish a few more books that are finished and collecting dust on my hard drive. I am hoping to return to selling and signing books at bookstores once we return from Mexico next spring. There is something special about signing a book and handing it to another person. Selling eBooks is okay, I mean it does provide some royalties, but it isn’t the same as the feel of passing a print book to a person I can see and hear standing in front of me.

I am hoping for a few “craft fairs” to happen in my area before Christmas. In the past, before Covid, I always managed to sell a few copies of my collection of published books. I know that those buyers would have never bought the books online in either print or eBook formats. It is priceless to see the real interest in a buyer’s eyes when they hold one of my books trying to decide whether to buy it or not.

Print or eBook in your opinion? Which is your preferred version and why?

I woke up this morning to -1 Celsius, the first morning since late spring in which the temperature was below zero. It is fitting as it is the first day of autumn, the autumn equinox which is called Mabon by the old Celtic world which often has a prominent role in a number of my novels.

Since my wife had to go to work early, we sat by the fireplace to have our morning coffee while it was still dark outside. There was no reason to sit on our back deck as there were no birds chirping and dashing all over the place to entertain us. Besides, we weren’t interested in layers of clothing being topped off by a light parka in order to stay warm. After all, that is what the fireplace is for, keeping warm on cold mornings.

I caught this explanation of the autumn equinox which I want to share with you: “Night and day are again of equal length and in perfect equilibrium – dark and light, masculine and feminine, inner and outer, in balance. But we are again on the cusp of transition and from now the year now begins to wane and from this moment darkness begins to defeat the light.” I tend to think of this differently though I have many resonances with Celtic mythology.

For me, the equinox is the point where I switch from outer-world focus to an inner-world focus. Diving deeper into the world of shadows, one does find light. Light hasn’t been defeated at all. Rather, it has simply gone to a quiet place in order to allow a person to get to know themselves better. During the season of light, the focus is almost exclusively on others and the outer world.

In my life, this is also symbolised by harvesting. Yesterday, I took the last of the tomatoes off the vines as I knew there was going to be a frost. Yesterday evening, all the work I have been putting into a committee had arrived at a point of completion, a harvesting and canning of ideas. I can now relax for the most part with only minor tasks in the outer world yet to need my attention.

“Mabon is a celebration and also a time of rest after the labour of harvest. In terms of life path it is the moment of reaping what you have sown, time to look at one’s hopes and aspirations and reflect on how they have manifested.It is time to complete projects, to clear out and let go that which is no longer wanted or needed.”

Diving deep into one’s inner world doesn’t mean ignoring the outer world. The outer world remains though the temperatures drop. One still has to eat and be present. To do otherwise is psychologically and physiologically dangerous. My projects that haven’t been completed are those which require a retreat from the hectic world of summer. I need the season of darkness to focus on my writing and my spiritual and psychological wellness. And that requires that I have done my outer world work with regards to my body and my relationships with others.

Hopefully, your shift from light to darkness is navigated with self-care in mind. The journey to the light of the spring equinox has now begun. We have made this journey countless times as individuals. The light is always there, waiting.

It’s overcast and windy this morning, a harbinger of the season that is quickly approaching. So far this morning we have had three showers which, unlike a summer rain shower, is not pleasant to experience. So like a good coward, I am indoors. There is a promise of nicer weather ahead according to the weatherman or woman who attempts to predict weather patterns.

So what does a naturist do when going nude outdoors is uninviting? Well, in my opinion and what I am currently doing, it only makes sense to get comfortable indoors with a mug of Jasmine tea and do some writing. The likelihood of lighting the fireplace this evening is high. I wish it would wait for another four to six weeks, but this is the Canadian prairies.

It has been some time since I published a book despite having completed two more novels. I hope to publish a sequel to Space Cadet Academy which I finished almost a year ago. I have a feeling that this will eventually become a series of books for Middle Grades student and all the young-at-heart. I wrote Space Cadet Academy for grandson number six with the cover image and the protagonist being based on him. He is twelve turning thirteen in less than a month. I have other stories in various stages of completion being written for other grandsons. Nothing yet has been begun for my last two grandchildren who are 5 and 3. That said, I have produced photo stories about them, for them and given those books to them.

I have an idea for my NaNoWriMo work this November. I want to write a sequel to my last completed novel, Nightshade Publishing Company, which is still not published. I do hope to publish that novel before the start of this year’s NaNoWriMo challenge. For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month] is a challenge to write a minimum of 50,000 words between November 1st and 30th.

A few of you may be aware that in two days I will officiate at a wedding ceremony. At the request of my eldest grandson who is to be married in November 2023, I obtained my license as a Marriage Commissioner for our province. His younger brother, grandson number two, is getting married on Saturday and has asked me to marry him and his fiancé.

Last Saturday, I was with the couple in order to get all the needed details for the registration of their impending marriage. This morning, I used that data to complete the documents that will be needed by the provincial government. Needless to say, I am proud to have this opportunity. I just hope that when it comes to the actual ceremony, I don’t become too nervous and embarrass myself and my family.

While I was visiting the two of them, I was asked for advice on how to stay married. The bride-to-be came from a broken home. My wife and I tried to answer as best we could. Though we have been married fifty-one years, we don’t have a recipe book on how to make a marriage work. Paradoxically, marriages are both fragile and resilient when viewed over the long term. In the day-by-day view, I can only say that stubbornness that refuses to concede defeat is vital. Marriage is a messy affair. How does one keep a union of two together when as individuals we have great difficulty in keeping our own shit together?

Should all marriages stick together? Absolutely not. There are a myriad of reasons to call it quits and move on with life. That said, I am certain that many failed marriages had the couple quit too soon leaving both to regret that fact years later. I have listened to too many divorced men who admit that they didn’t try hard enough to keep their marriage alive. They shifted from blaming their spouses to blaming themselves, their failure to communicate and their failure to remember why they got married in the first place. Was it their fault that the marriage came to an end? More likely, it was the fault of both parties.

So, now at fifty-one years married, can I relax and assume that I don’t have to work on my marriage? Can I rest assured that all will be okay for us as a couple? Short answer, No. Even after all this time, the work doesn’t come to an end. There are too many marriages that fail because one or both become complacent. A glance at divorce statistics show that divorces by people in their sixties and seventies are on the rise. Why? Primary factor would be the change in economic situations. More women today have better economic situations and can survive on their own. In the past, this wasn’t the case.

Marriages in the last quarter of life are relationships that centre on companionship. Successful marriages are those that have both parties share the majority of values, activities, and commitment. At the same time, both are comfortable enough to accept that the other is still and individual and that the differences are a vital key to his or her personality. One loves a whole person, not just selected parts.

An example. I am a naturist. I prefer to be out of my clothing as much as is socially or practically possible. My wife loves clothes. At times I wear clothes and at times she goes clothing-free. We both do it to please the other, to acknowledge the otherness. Would our marriage be better if I stopped being a naturist or if she stopped wearing clothing to please the other? In my opinion, the answer is no. A person must honour and accept themselves in order to be a good partner.

Your thoughts and opinions?

I am a morning person. I have always been this way, even as a teenager many decades ago. It’s the time of day when I get to own the world. With everyone else still sleeping, I get to be fully myself without apology. There are a few drawbacks to being a morning person, the first of which is obvious – I’m not really a party animal when evenings roll around. After all, most parties happen late in the day.

Yes, I am on the sidewalk in front of my house in full view of any neighbour who might happen to be awake and looking out the window. I do realise that there are others who are morning people, and who like me sit in the darkness of the house with coffee in hand and watch the morning arrive. If there are others who take note of the naked man on the street, they keep it to themselves. Six-thirty in the morning isn’t really all that early as there are people who go to work at that time, but there aren’t many driving down the street which gives me time to take a photo such as this one.

So why? Why do I take this risk? To begin with, this is me. It isn’t about just talking about being a naturist, it is about actually being a naturist. For those that are aware of my trilogy of Naked Poetry books, you know that a nude image is paired with each poem. There are people in my small town of 500 who own copies of these poetry books, and they have been shared. As well, there is the autobiographical trilogy which details my journey in which being skyclad had played a vital healing role. Many copies of these books are also owned by people in this small prairie town. The series is also in the library.

When I add in the fact that virtually all of my neighbours have seen me nude in full daylight, there is nothing surprising about seeing this unclothed version of me. These neighbours invite us into their homes and return to our house for meals, morning coffee, early evening wine, and to help each other with those things that need a neighbour’s help.

All of that said, it is doubtful that I would be out on the street when the world wakes up. This really isn’t about exhibitionism.

The sun is out, and so is the wind. It is considerably cooler that yesterday, but not too cool. The wind remains strong gusting to over 50 km/hr, enough to keep me from walking out in the hills. When it is this windy, we typically walk around town in order to be protected from the wind. I took this photo this morning in my yard just before I picked up newly fallen crab apples. There is no mistaking that autumn has arrived on the Canadian prairies.

Once the apples were picked and disposed of, I used our electric grain mill to grind some whole wheat flour in the yard. I didn’t have to worry about flour getting all over my clothing since I could do this while clothing free. Then, it was time for a cup of tea while sitting in a protected corner of the yard, in front of our garden shed. Naturally, my chair was positioned so that I could feel the sun’s rays over as much of my body as possible. With the coming of winter in the foreseeable future, I have to take advantage of this as much as possible.

Yes, I guess I could say that I am a sun worshipper.

As I write this, it is only 5 Celsius and it feels even colder because of brisk WNW winds gusting to more than 40 km/hr. It is sunny out with scattered clouds and it looks like a beautiful day. However, it definitely won’t be a day for going for a pleasant naturist hike. Since we left the windows open last night, it is only 16C in the house and I am wearing a housecoat to stay warm as I write. It will warm up and I will return to my usual writing outfit. I do almost everything clothing free.

So what do I do when summer comes to an end? Well, first off, I tend to write as I am not as itchy to be outside wandering clothing free in the prairie hills. Yesterday, I put up a new part of my “The Four” story on Wattpad. I hope that you visit my Wattpad site and read the first six parts that are there. And, if you like what you read, please “vote” for each part and perhaps even leave a comment. All of that is helpful in having my story reach more readers.

As some of you would expect, I will again be taking part in NaNoWriMo this November. For those who are unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel (can be longer) in the thirty days of the month. I don’t have any idea, yet, of what the story might be. In an attempt to do it differently this year, I am reaching out to you, my readers, to suggest a story and perhaps the characters you would like to see in the story. Just a word of warning, I don’t write exotica. The story doesn’t have to be about naturism, or having naturist characters and scenes. Now, with that said, it is your turn. Feel free to suggest more than one story.

The heat spell continues which has forced me to walk in the early morning which is just fine by me since I am a morning person. However, there is smoke in the air, smoke pushed down from northern forest fires which has had me stuffed up with allergies. So far, I have taken three free-hikes in the first four days of September. I am hoping to add in another walk tomorrow morning if my body and the weather is cooperative.

As I mentioned two days ago, canning of tomatoes has now happened. We will be doing a second batch in the relatively near future. The remainder of our garden is filled with root crops such as carrots, beets, and potatoes, as well as squash of various kinds.

I sold a book today on Amazon which means that August will stand alone as a month with no sales. The naturist community is huge, yet the demand for naturist fiction is not there. My last two books have not sold well with one being a naturist fiction novel and the other being a middle grades novel. I wrote the middle grades novel for my twelve year old grandson who has read it, enjoyed it, and has since passed it on to his friends. The naturist novel hasn’t been published as of yet. It is a story of two professors in an American university whose private naturist lives become exposed by a jealous student. This story is very different from my usual novels.

When I would do book signing tours, book sales were excellent. Perhaps this is trying to tell me that next spring I need to make a return to doing signing events in bookstores. Another possibility is to do author readings in libraries in our province. I have also toyed with the idea of submitting one or two of my latest efforts for competitions. The idea of producing audio books has fallen by the wayside. It is hard to find the energy to produce such a book, especially when naturist fiction books aren’t much in demand.

I am planning to take part in NaNoWriMo again this year, however it is unlikely that it will be a naturist fiction novel. I am hoping to write the sequel to my as-of-yet unpublished university story while in Mexico for January through March.

I look forward to fielding questions from you about my books, naturist fiction in general, or about any other topic.