Becoming a Nudist – Chapter 8 – Sharing Nudism – Joy as the Compost

Previous part – Chapter 7 – Being a Nudist – Proud, Respectful, and Respected Nudist

Let me ask you a simple question. If you had the possibility to be naked more often, would you be? Not really sure? Allow me probe a little bit more. Imagine you’re invited to have lunch and spend time at a friend’s who has a big garden and swimming pool. The weather is gorgeous, but you’re not certain that your friend is a naturist. Would you ask him or her if you can get naked?

For many nudists, the answer will be no. For many good and less good reasons, mostly because of the fear of being wrongly judged. What if you decided that the answer would be a resounding yes? Well, this is what this chapter is about.

Nudism is a social lifestyle. When you embark of the nudism journey, you have more questions than answers. However, the more you travel on this path, answers become clearer and nudity becomes more and more obvious. Up to a point, that it becomes the de facto clothing option and you will want to get naked more often than not. And it comes to the point that you will need to tell friends and family that you’re a nudist and you want to get naked whenever you can.

Simplicity

Stop here and go back one sentence. Read it again…

What do you think about it? Are you ready to tell friends and family that you’re a nudist and want to get naked whenever you can? Many nudists aren’t ready about it and it’s totally understandable and acceptable. However, telling them is simple. It’s a simple sentence: “By the way, I wanted to tell you that I’m a nudist,” or “I love being naked, in a non-sexual way, since I’m a nudist”, or “I really find plain and simple nudity comfortable. What about you?”

Simple, but not easy. Why isn’t it easy? Because we fear the reaction, what people will think about us. This is the reason why I have two simple rules when it comes to sharing nudism with textiles:

—Rule #1: Don’t make nudism and naturism an artificial topic. Either it comes naturally or forget about it. How can nudism come naturally? Here are a few examples. You decide to go to a beach with friends, tell them you would really love to go to the nudist beach as you’re nudist. You invite friends for a barbecue in your garden, let them know that as you’re a nudist, plain and simple nudity will be welcomed. If nudism comes in a conversation, ask what people ask about it, share that you’re a nudist and provide your views on the topic. I presume you see the pattern here: just grab the opportunity and let things unfolding naturally. What about negative reaction? Rule #2.

—Rule #2: Always have material that you can share to explain nudism. Most textiles don’t know what nudism and naturism are about. Most think it’s a sexual practice or worse a sexual deviance. Have a couple of books, magazines and websites ready to share with textiles. Have them read those materials while explaining before that nudism isn’t about sex but about respect, comfort and simplicity.

Those two rules don’t guarantee that people will understand your choice and adhere to the nudist philosophy, but it will simplify your life in a big way. Once people know that you’re a nudist, they won’t be surprised or shocked by your nudity if they happened to meet you while you’re naked.

The big question I’m asked is, “but what if people I share with that I’m a nudist decide to avoid me?” Let me be straight out of the bat here: one, share with them that their decision makes you sad; two, move to somebody else as they clearly don’t deserve your friendship. I’m not saying that all your friends should be nudists or embrace the nudist philosophy. I’m saying that true friends will love you irrespective of the fact that you’re a nudist. True friends will respect you for who you are.

To live a true and balanced nudist life, you need to be surrounded by people who love you and respect that you’re a nudist. Nudism and naturism are, in my opinion, the best possible lifestyles. This book is a true testament to the many benefits of nudism. We, nudists, have to be proud of who we are and of our lifestyle, and be ready to share it joyfully.

Joy

Joy is the center of nudism for me, as you have read in the previous chapter. I believe that joy is the fuel of a balanced and happy life. When I feel sad or my mood is slightly on a down path, I summon joy. How? First, by being grateful to be alive and in a good health, then to be able to enjoy all my mornings in perfect nudity, including my daily workout. Second, by taking my wife in my arms and telling her I love her. Third, by deciding to be joyful and have a joyful day.

These three simple acts of gratitude and love summons serotonin and oxytocin. Serotonin is a natural mood booster, as explains this article from the Harvard Medical School. Oxytocin is the love hormone and helps create bonding. Both are parts of a group of hormones, along with dopamine and endorphins, that are called feel-good hormones. To know more about them, read this series by the Harvard Medical School. However, there’s no debate anymore in the medical community that an increased level of those hormones leads to a greater sense of well-being. Exercise, meditation and love boost those chemicals and thus create a virtuous circle. 

But what role nudity and nudism play in this? Our bodies were made to be naked. Thousands of years of evolution happened before clothing was invented. All of our natural body features are working better when we’re naked. Our largest organ, our skin, absorbs lights to use its energy in many ways. Uncovered, our body thermal regulation works optimally. Finally, when naked with others, we realize we’re all the same, while all different at the same time.

Increase in production of various well-being hormones is probably explaining the increased level of comfort and joy nudists feel when naked. The moment you undress after a long day clothed or when you abandon your short at the nudist beach feel so good. This is the release of endorphins and serotonin that provides this feeling. Of course, if the shame of nudity still exists in people brain, it will decrease their effects. Actually, when stressed, the body releases cortisol, the stress hormones, that affects the release of the feel-good hormones.

Cortisol is necessary to life and has been central to our survival when physical threats were prevalent. It forms the basis of our fight or flight response to a danger. However, too much cortisol leads to health issues. This is the main reason, when people are ashamed of their body, they can’t get the benefits of nudity. You need gradually to get rid of it to enjoy its full benefits that we have seen in the previous chapters.

When you realize your body has to be entirely naked to function optimally, you summon joy into your life and one thing you want to do for many nudists is to share this joy.

Share

In chapter 6, Sharing the Joy, we have described how sharing joy creates more joy and how benevolence, compassion and altruism play a role in our happiness. When you combine joy and nudism, you get a multiplier effect. I often think that nudism provides power to joy, and I sometimes talk about joy to the power of nudism. The more nudism, the more joy, and the more joy you summon in your life, the more nudism is required.

There is another multiplier effect to joy and nudism: sharing. The more nudism you share, the more nudists you create and the more joy you disseminate. There are many ways to share nudism with others and here are a few simple ideas to share that you’re a nudist and to share the benefits of nudism.

There are no benefits in hiding you’re a nudist. I’ve heard many times that if people knew I was a nudist, they would see me as a pervert and will turn away. It’s true some people will give you a weird look at first, telling them you just feel better naked like millions of people across the planet and that you’re not asking them to become nudists, calm all discussion. Some people will continue to look at you as a weirdo, but your actions speak louder than words. Be kind and respectful and people won’t see you as a nudist but as a normal human being.

Have nudist magazines and books available. Many people have a personal library, leave books or magazines on their coffee table, nudism is a topic that shouldn’t be put at the back. It’s as interesting a topic as cars, fashion or news. Having those books and magazines available when friends and family come at your place will act as a wonderful icebreaker to start discussing about nudism.

Discuss nudism with friends and family. Gift them this book, share magazines, explain its many benefits. This goes with the previous two ideas. If you’re open about nudism and have materials available about it, it can become a topic of conversation where you share your experience and offer your help to discover it further, for example by going to a nude beach or spending a weekend at a nudist resort.

Get naked and offer others to get naked too. I know it’s controversial for many people. How can you be naked when others are clothed for instance? It’s weird at the beginning, the first minutes then it disappears and it creates a ripple effect when others will disrobe too. If people know you’re a nudist, they won’t be surprised if you disrobe and are naked in your garden or at home for instance. They may even join you, or not. But they will eventually accept your nudity. Do we need to do this everywhere? Make sensible decision. Some nudists I know are extremists and disrobe wherever and whenever they can, to the risk of shocking others. I tend to have a more sensible approach and get naked only when people know I’m a nudist and accept others’ nudity. Respect is a central function of my definition of nudism.

If you put in action those four simple ideas, not only you will live in accordance to your inner beliefs, but you will also contribute to creating a more respectful attitude to nudism and to inviting people to discover nudism, to try it and maybe embrace it. In all those actions, a central point though will be to explain that nudism isn’t about sex, it’s not about exhibitionism and it’s not about voyeurism. This is what we’re going to see now.

Next part – Nude is not Lewd

Strip Nude, Stay Nude, Live Nude and Share the Nude Love!

Image by Marta Cuesta from Pixabay