With the Easter weekend behind us, I suddenly wonder why so many people still have problems believing that the nude life can be a good life. Yes, ‘naturally’ there will always people who think they’re right and we’re wrong, but isn’t it odd how strong and lopsided ‘belief’ can be?
Christians are told to believe that 2000 and some years ago, a man got up in his grave and came back to the world. Sure, if that’s what you want to believe, go right ahead.
For some reason it takes an even larger leap of faith / believing that people like to be naked. That is a step or bridge or belief too far for most people in this world. It strikes me time and again that this ancient resurrection story is accepted as gospel (pun intended), and that we, the living proof of the joy of the nude life, have this constant battle against disbelief.
A few days ago I was at our local nude beach, and while I was there – with about 6 or 7 other nude people, I was “hit” by the calm and serenity of the place.
If I desperately had to pick a church, this would be it. No hassle, no “have to”, just a bunch of kind people that are there to relax. They don’t need a belief or faith to know this is a good thing.
Even better: no one has any interest in what you believe or think. As long as you behave according to the rules of the nude beach and you don’t make a mess, you’re golden.
I have yet to find a group of people that’s so diverse, yet so tight-knit in their conviction that the nude way is the good way.
Of course, there is the odd incident that someone creates a problem, but that’s not hard to deal with. The majority is peaceful and accepting of everyone from the start, and only when you’ve shown you can’t behave, you will be asked to leave. I’ve seen it happen only twice, so far.
Give me the belief that nude is good. Others can take their own beliefs and be happy with them.
Religion and spirituality are supposed to teach us (or like….guide us) into tolerance and yet so many people do not live up to their vows or ideals. The pandemic has given many people a chance to spank their inner moppet and reevaluate themselves a bit with extra time to think and I feel if there is some good to come from the nightmare of the last two years it’s that many people are doing subtle reevaluation of themselves. We are all human tho and not infallible or resistant to the occasional bit of hypocrisy
Small steps an eye for an eye makes the world go blind but a single act of kindness per week makes the world keep turning… tolerance is part of that. To quote the big cheese himself: forgive them, for they know not what they do.
That would be nice, indeed, a change towards more independence from dogmatic religion.
As to the quote: do any of us know what we’re doing? Many say they know, they have ‘the answer’. I doubt that.
Never trust anyone who says they have all the answers, they usually have none and they do not even know the questions – quoteth the Elise after 3 cups of yummy herbal tea
Elise on herbal tea sounds smart.
The more answers I find, the more questions come up…
Lately there’s been a great hullabaloo about RTO (Return To Office) now that the pandemic is ‘over’*. On one side there’s the Hell No crowd whose direct supervisors say have been doing their job just fine at home for 2 years now. On the other is a curious collection of real estate investors and middle managers who wax most UNpoetically about how it’s ‘time to get back to work’ (as if everybody’s been on vacation), ‘stop lounging around in pyjamas’ (as if anyone’s wearing anything to begin with), and a whole bunch of other trite phrases that make even less sense.
What’s actually going on is that the Hell No crowd sees no reason to commute 3 hours round trip to sit in front of a computer and do exactly what they’ve been doing at home. The RTO crowd sees the commercial real estate market collapsing big time and empty cubicles which suggest these middle managers weren’t so needed to begin with.
That’s the big revaluation and recalculation going on in the states.
*Obviously, it isn’t. But we’ll just skip that part.
Fascinating, indeed. It does show that lots of managers are only managing space…
At one time I would spend quite a bit of time arguing with people about beliefs and rights. I would use, I hope, reason and critical thinking to try to prove my view was “right”. I found that, considering religious arguments, they are over when the faith card is played. Once someone says they “have faith” that is the end of the road because you have reached the unprovable place.
Now, I have come to realize that there can be more than one right and what a person choses to believe is strictly up to that person. The rub is that “true believers” of any position still are willing to impose their attitudes on others and the society in general through legislation and regulations. Currently, we are in the process of banning books from school libraries because they contain content that some find offensive. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one that is being thrown out in some places. The reasoning is that the content might make the reader uncomfortable which is the whole point of the book anyway. It stimulates thoughts about tolerance for others who are not exactly like you. If you do not want to have to think about a message you should probably stick to Nancy Drew mysteries.
As “True Believers” in naturism we should probably continue to demand what is necessary for us to be nude where appropriate and to associate with others who agree with us. This means more beaches, parks and other venues have to be designated clothing optional. We need local representatives who are aware of the need for nudist activities and are willing to make it happen through legislation.
I, personally, no longer want to challenge anyone’s rights or beliefs if they are bought and paid for by them, do not cost others and do not interfere with or cause harm to others. We should expect the same attitude to prevail with them and if that happens we all will be better off. Nudists pay taxes just like textiles and part of those funds can certainly be used to dedicate public property for clothing optional recreation and enjoyment.
Wonderful response, thank you very much, Don. I agree. To each their own, and not “We know what’s best for everyone”.