
"I always say: To be well dressed you must be well naked.โ
Why is taking your clothes off considered such a big deal in our culture?
Just look at young children. They do it all the time. Naturally. Freely. Not a care in the world.
As the years go by, we learn to equate our naked bodies with shame โฆ shame that comes to be reflected on the outside.
Weโre taught to hide. Weโre taught to build up boundaries – some healthy, many not.
Weโre born believing in ourselves. Weโre also born shameless. Overtime, we lose belief bit by bit while we build up shame little by little.
Taking my clothes off, posing nude, was a personal challenge for me.
What did I learn from my experience?
I learned that what we fear is often simply a story weโve told ourselves, oftentimes the same story others have told us. Our social environment is the ultimate Influencer.
I also learned that taking my clothes off wasnโt really about the clothes or the lack of clothes. It wasnโt about how perfect my body looked. It wasnโt about what others think of how I look. It was the final step in a lifelong journey of inner freedom, laying down the last shackle, the last chain tying me to anyone but myself.
When you toss the last bit of artifice, the last thing to hide behind, you find freedom. I know I did!
For me, taking off my clothes was a metaphor. Clothing was a symbol of hiding. It was a beautiful cloak to hide behind.
Peeling those clothes off was like peeling away the final layer of who I was told to be, taught to be, programmed to be, shamed to be. This allowed me to become who I truly am – a woman proud to stand tall in the beautiful โInFitโ sheโs spent her life building from within.
For some, taking off your clothes, posing stark naked, may be no big deal at all. Perhaps, thereโs something else you fear, some other story youโve told yourself about yourself, some other way to free yourself from within.
One of the most surprising revelations for me was that what Iโm wearing or not wearing has nothing to do with WHO I AM. Clothes, or lack thereof, donโt define me – wonโt ever define me.
The only person who will ever define me is me.
The only person who can ever truly define you is YOU.
What I also realized was that the stories I was told about being a โgood girl,โ a โvirginal girl,โ werenโt true. They were simply someone elseโs beliefs projected onto me. My mistake was in accepting them.
Not any more.
Being a โgood girlโ has nothing to do with the outside, nothing to do with clothing or nudity. Being a good girl has to do with the heart.
Whatโs holding you back? Whatโs keeping you from feeling free – from being free on the inside?
You might be surprised to find that doing just that – whatever it is thatโs keeping you in fear, keeping you from being free, from feeling free is exactly what you might want to consider doing!
After all, freedom feels so damn good.
I should have been born in the 60โs and grown up in the 70โs โฆ Oh wait โฆ I did!
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*Makeup by the amazing Jessica de Ben!
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4 comments
jodie filogomo
It’s amazing how when we really analyze life, we can pull back all the layers and be a better person.
Xoox
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Catherine Grace O'Connell
Isn’t that so true, dear friend. Love you to bits!
Rebecca Snowball
Catherine, thank you for your inspiring message! I’m a nudist at heart. I used to sleep naked but for the last several years always were pjs. Your message in helping me to see that nude is one of my favorite colors too!
Catherine Grace O'Connell
Isn’t that so wonderful and freeing to the soul, sister? Thank you for sharing. Yes, bring on the nude!