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NaturalTramper

December 15, 2023

Community Member

U.S.A.

Saying Hello

My name is Tyler, and I just joined. I live in the U.S., but spent five years in NZ as a boy. I hope to get back again--perhaps on holidays when I retire in a few years.

My wife and I are empty nesters with three grown children. My interest in naturism took off in my 40s primarily as an exercise to confront and overcome the lingering body shame and insecurity I grew up with. In order to document my emotional progress and my adventures, I challenged myself to use my phone to record photos along the way.

It took me ages to reach a sense of personal peace and honest comfort with who I am, and to understand and appreciate my body as something good and whole--as a gift to humbly treasure instead of as an embarassment to hide. But with practice and persistence, solitary naturism has become a therapeutic and deeply rewarding pastime, immersing myself in the joy of life and re-discovering awe and beauty in the world. My photos gradually shifted focus as well, from being about bodily "exposure" and "achievement" to capturing wonder and expressing gratitude.

My wife supports my quirky journey with good humor, but she didn't have the same hangups and thus doesn't experience the same liberation I find in nakedness. It doesn't have "meaning" for her. For me, it's a way of practicing honesty and reverence; for her, it's simply practical or impractical--mostly the latter.

I'm kind of a social introvert, so I love to really get to know people and understand what makes them tick, but I don't enjoy casual, surface-level socializing--particularly in groups. I'd be comfortable now on a nude hike or swim with friends or strangers, but mostly what calls to me is solitude in nature and seeking a personal connection with the Divine.

If anyone here is on a related journey of self discovery, I'd be happy to hear your observations and share my own.