The Benefit Of Being Naked
I think being naked is incredibly underrated. For something so absolute, nudity sure inspires a heap of contradictions. Naked bodies are both taboo and celebrated, but whatever your take on nudity may be, this one will focus on something near and dear to my heart – personal creativity. Indeed, many of my very best ideas have come to me when I was not at all dressed for the occasion.
Honesty
For many people, myself especially, some of the most relaxing time spent each day is in the shower. Shower-time is the time to reflect on the day ahead or just past, a time to be honest with yourself. The honesty inherent in a shower comes from stripping away (literally!) the elaborate and artificial impositions and burdens of our society. Logos are shed and you can just be you.
- Your phone? Can’t answer it.
- Your email? Can’t check it.
- That cute server? Can’t friend request them.
You get the picture. Just you and your naked body.
Then something happens – you start to hum. That tune, that one you heard earlier today. It turns into a full-blown song, how unlike you! You are definitely not a singer, nor a rapper, in fact you would not be caught dead even pretending to like this particular tune, not in public.
You tense up. Then you remember – you aren’t in public.
Creativity
You relax and your mind wanders, helped by the sound and the feel of water beating against your back. Free to roam, your mind slips easily from one thought to the next, sorting and judging, teasing and calculating – until you’ve got it. You aren’t sure where it came from, or why it arrived, but it’s here.
Whoa.
You look down – still naked. Nobody there to judge, or tell you “it’s already been done.” Just you + an idea + endless possibilities. Now take a breath of the night air and keep that idea fresh in your mind – stopping just before you grab a towel to cherish the moment – to realize that you have just embarked upon a path many deny themselves.
These are the moments I relish, because these are the moments I am most free.
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Shedding your temporary persona (your car, clothes, etc… are symbols of your ego and personas) is a fleeting state of psychological freedom. It is easy to feel free with no one looking, nothing to project your ego onto, and the soft quiet drum of hot water on your body.
Your true test of character and “freedom” is to feel that same sense of psychological freedom amidst the din and bustle of a busy city intersection or gathering place.
While you could certainly free much of your self by stripping down naked in the middle of Time Square, you might get arrested. Luckily, you don’t have to do that in order to recapture freedom from the group mind; freedom is an internal state – you have the ability to feel free regardless of the physical circumstances. Consciousness at its best. Whole consciousness has the modality to be that which it may.
By the way, I love my showers too, I take atleast two a day and two to one cold showers every morning; it is calming and invigorating. However, my sense of freedom is unchanged from the moment I enter the shower to the moment I leave it.
This link is good starting place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuation
“many of my very best ideas have come to me when I was not at all dressed for the occasion.” I agree with it. Even I was experiencing this irrational concept. If I tried to look for some creative outlook, I always come up with a nude idea. Not in the sense that I like it but it shows many mysteries which is for me, it creates the best art from your senses.
Shower time makes my day relaxing. During that moment, my mind is working properly. I can even recall those already forgotten memories.
You’re good. Really! I can relate to your article. I almost remember my childhood moments looking myself at the front of the mirror and creating answerable topics inside my mind. It’s really good.
You mention about showers? Honestly I do not make use of my shower time well. I almost skip them because of laziness. (smile) But after I read this, I realize that I’m loosing a great art. Thanks!