Since I Was A Child

When I was only three or four years-old, I went through a phase of suddenly taking off all my clothes, usually in public. (This was a real concern for my parents, as you can imagine). As young as I was, I can remember how I felt when I was shucking my clothes off. It wasn't an attention-getting ploy; I simply hated the feeling of the fabric on my skin and I wanted to be free of it.

Much to my parents' relief, I outgrew this. In my adulthood, though, I still look for places to be naked. There is a nude beach nearby me and I go there a lot. I don't go in order to be looked at; nor am I much interested in looking at others. I just like the feeling of the sun and the air on my body.

Years ago, my then-husband and I lived in Montana. We headed up to the mountains so he could cut up dead trees for firewood. It was a cold December afternoon but the sun was beating down on the face of the mountain. My job was to help him carry the firewood to the truck when he was finished.  While I was waiting, I walked a distance away and found a clearing in the pines.  Just as I did when I was a child, I took all my clothes off and lay down on the grass. Within seconds, I was warmed by the mid-day sun.  I could hear my husband's axe in the distance. I could hear the cold air rustling through the pines around me. I could feel every blade of grass beneath me. In my place in that clearing, I felt wonderfully alone. Not to sound like some new-age flake, but I felt as though I were having a private moment with the Universe.

I most enjoy being naked outdoors when there are no eyes on me, when it's just me and the air, or the sun, or the water on my skin. It makes me feel like there are no barriers between me and the natural world.