My wife and I took our first nude cruise in January.

For anyone who might still think that public nudity is sinful or distasteful, I recommend going on a nude cruise. The sight of so many variations of the human form is inspirational and oddly comforting. Once we stop comparing human bodies against the harsh guidelines imposed by the fashion industry, it becomes a lot easier to accept ourselves and others for the wonderful beings we are.

One of the cruise organizers put it very well. She said that, compared to people on other clothes-compulsive cruises, the folks on the nude cruise seemed to be a lot more human. Indeed we were. It’s almost like a tacit conspiracy to accept and appreciate each other.  We can be secure in the knowledge that we ourselves are going to be accepted and appreciated.

It’s not like nude people don’t look at each other. I often noticed my own gaze lingering on the shapes of other peoples’ bodies below their shoulders. Staring is never appreciated, but seeing is inevitable and actually very nice. I am certain that we ought to share the beauty of our bodies much more. Why cover up our marvelous selves?

One of my valuable lessons from the cruise is that our bodies deserve respect and appreciation, never shame and recrimination.  How long before society at large learns this lesson? Maybe too long, but each one of us individually can practice it every day.  We can start with ourselves and then see the beauty in each other more and more.

Special thanks to Marci and Jason for leading three Human Awareness Institute (HAI) introductory sessions on the cruise. They were well attended, and as always for me the hand on heart was a joyous time.

During our week in the Caribbean, we visited four different countries, enjoyed some terrific entertainment, basked in the sunlight on beautiful beaches, and ate a lot of delicious food. But we enjoyed these things much more, and we remember them fondly because we did them all with our friends. And because we made new friends and strengthened acquaintances along the way. In fact, we would not have gone at all except upon the recommendations of some of our friends at Lupin. Good thing we listened!