A NAKED BABY
Recently, I was strolling along the beach with the dog, somewhat oblivious to my surroundings – either deep in thought with regard to the meaning of life, or perhaps it was that my morning coffee hadn’t quite kicked in, yet! When all of a sudden he appeared – A NAKED BABY!
Ok, I am not really a prude, but I still somewhat taken back by nakedness. One rarely encounters nakedness accidentally. But, lo and behold this little chap (I’d say about 3 years old or so) was definitely naked! And, he couldn’t have been happier.
My new little friend was with his dad and the family dog. The dog and Jr. were frolicking at the water’s edge. Occasionally, a wave would rise up and dampen the little guy only to be met with peels of laughter. He truly didn’t have a care in the world, nor did he have any inhibitions about his nakedness. All was right with the world!
So naturally, I had to over analyze this. At what point do we become self conscious? Does it happen naturally or is it imposed upon us by society’s norms? So, I did a little research. It seems preschool age is about when children begin forming opinions about themselves and when they are influenced by the comments of parents, other significant adults (teachers) and their peers. Other studies suggest a slightly earlier age of around 3.
My guess is my little friend’s naked jaunts on the beach have a pretty short remaining shelf life. In a year or so, his own sense of self will prevent such carefree abandon. And, thus begins a path of self consciousness that will remain into his golden years. For many, this begins the path of body awareness - we will spend the rest of our lives analyzing, critiquing and fretting over our bodies.
Am I jealous of my little buddy? Absolutely! Imagine a day at the beach with out sucking in my gut or worrying about what was jiggling. A day without worry what others were thinking. A day without counting carbs. A day to shed off age-old inhibitions and just live.
Imagine for a minute, if we could just recapture that carefree abandon of running naked in the surf. When we didn’t judge our bodies, when we didn’t compare ourselves to beauty standards imposed by an industry trying to sell us perfection – if we only took this pill, wore these clothes, but this product, etc . . . Imagine how happy we could be. How we could focus on life’s important lessons. How we could learn to love one another for the beautifully unique creatures that we are.
Ok, I am not really a prude, but I still somewhat taken back by nakedness. One rarely encounters nakedness accidentally. But, lo and behold this little chap (I’d say about 3 years old or so) was definitely naked! And, he couldn’t have been happier.
My new little friend was with his dad and the family dog. The dog and Jr. were frolicking at the water’s edge. Occasionally, a wave would rise up and dampen the little guy only to be met with peels of laughter. He truly didn’t have a care in the world, nor did he have any inhibitions about his nakedness. All was right with the world!
So naturally, I had to over analyze this. At what point do we become self conscious? Does it happen naturally or is it imposed upon us by society’s norms? So, I did a little research. It seems preschool age is about when children begin forming opinions about themselves and when they are influenced by the comments of parents, other significant adults (teachers) and their peers. Other studies suggest a slightly earlier age of around 3.
My guess is my little friend’s naked jaunts on the beach have a pretty short remaining shelf life. In a year or so, his own sense of self will prevent such carefree abandon. And, thus begins a path of self consciousness that will remain into his golden years. For many, this begins the path of body awareness - we will spend the rest of our lives analyzing, critiquing and fretting over our bodies.
Am I jealous of my little buddy? Absolutely! Imagine a day at the beach with out sucking in my gut or worrying about what was jiggling. A day without worry what others were thinking. A day without counting carbs. A day to shed off age-old inhibitions and just live.
Imagine for a minute, if we could just recapture that carefree abandon of running naked in the surf. When we didn’t judge our bodies, when we didn’t compare ourselves to beauty standards imposed by an industry trying to sell us perfection – if we only took this pill, wore these clothes, but this product, etc . . . Imagine how happy we could be. How we could focus on life’s important lessons. How we could learn to love one another for the beautifully unique creatures that we are.
