World Naked Gardening Day!

For all of you who are secret nudists at heart, now, on the first Saturday in May, it's your chance to let it all hang out.

Like these plants. Do they care that it's a bad hair day? I think not.

"Why garden naked? ... First of all, it's fun! Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude. Moreover, our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment. Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us--even if only for those few sunkissed minutes--that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet."



"All that's involved is getting naked and making the world's gardens--whatever their size, public or private--healthier and more attractive. WNGD has no political agenda, nor is it owned or organized by any one particular group. Naked individuals and groups are encouraged to adopt the day for themselves."
http://wngd.org

Have I done this before? Yes, I have. Is it awesome? Yes, it actually is. Although I think you can get close to the same feeling gardening in a tiny speedo or bikini, too, which I'd encourage trying, if you don't feel up to the nudity challenge. There is something about feeling the sun, wind, and dirt on your skin, as you interact with your garden, that simply feels good.

In my opinion, it reminds us that we have a connection with the world around us. Not in a some kind of mystical or spiritual sense, but in a basic, physical way. We are part of what's around us, rather than closed off and separate from it. Our skin stops being cut off from the wind and sun, from the plants, heck, from the ground.

Take a minute and think of how seldom most people's feet actually TOUCH the ground. Not the floor, not the inside of their shoes, but the actual earth under their feet. Some people don't live in places where there's actual earth for their feet to touch in the first place, or not earth that's unpolluted and safe to touch bare skin. We live on the planet and huge numbers of us can go days without ever touching it.

I think there's something rather sad about that, and I think it robs us of a basic connection that's important. Besides, like I said, it's fun. Think of how much joy playing in the dirt brings a child, and imagine having that joy as an adult - to me, that's gardening naked (or in a bikini).  Seriously - it is really pretty amazing.

Try it. I think you'll like it. ^_^