The Gift of Self Worth

I know, this is not my nudist blog, but it ties in to having the gift of self worth in a big way.

From an early age in life I was allowed (and so my brother, and father) to roam the house nude in the evenings. We we in essence nudists. We never went to camps or beaches of the nudist variety, but it's just what we where. I don't think dad put a label on it other than, "it's natural."

Mother on the other hand did not want to be nude at all. She had a lot of Catholic guilt built up in her mind, and it kept her from being free.

Later in life I started to go to venues like camps, lakes and even a couple of resorts. It was great. I went to a hell of a lot of weekend stays at a friends farm where several of us would live the nudist life and be free.

This gave me the give of accepting my body and not caring about what others thought about it.

There was a short time in my teens that I felt uncomfortable with my body, but this seems to be normal from what I've been seeing in blogs.

It also took a while to accept that I could no longer work due to physical limitations and mental ones. I have a mental disorder that just doesn't allow me to work. I've tried several times and ended up in the hospital or generally having a breakdown every time. It's just not possible.

So instead of just sitting here collecting benefits, I tend to do things like allow people to use my art for free. It's a great release to create it and share it. The fact that I've on more than a few occasions seen it come back around in one form or another is very rewarding. This very much gives to my sense of self worth.

There is also the idea instilled in my by my parents from a young age, that everyone has worth, even if they are on the streets - they still have value. It's a great gift to me from them and I'm sure it's kept me going many times when things where very dark for me. I've had some times where my mind went to places it's not supposed to go, and needed to he on a mental ward. To say the least, in these times, if I did not have this sense of worth that was instilled in me, I'd probably be gone now.

I know our society is not conducive to developing a sense of self worth. It makes money off of the fact that we listened to the advertising when it told us we needed this or that to be happy. The folly of this is, most of the time, it doesn't make people happy for long. It's a lie to make the rich richer. People on average hate who they are, and put on a mask for the world to look like something they are not and never really will be, all to pretend they are happy, important, special, or whatever.

There is the last point, "special". A lot of people that are now young adults where raised to think they where all kinds of special and they deserve everything. The reality of life once you start to work is very different from that, and they often can't take it and end up going from job to job and never settling. I've done a lot of jobs people would think are horrible to do, and enjoyed doing them. The accomplishment of getting it done right was my reward. It sure as hell was not the pay most of the time. My sense of worth was not based on being "special", it was based on being me and just as good as anyone else in the world. I did not have to be on a pedestal.

To close, "Thank you mom and dad, you gave me a reason to keep going in dark times, and the ability to love myself. This is the greatest gift a person can have." Also, the ability not to give into ego, that is also a great gift.