How many layers do I take off until I am naked?

Look at that face! Tamara offered this photo, that I happened to take, of her daughter (a few years ago!) and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Yes that baby is naked but look in her eyes. She’s naked in another much more profound way.  A baby keeps nothing hidden. Everything, all she is, is there with you. In time, the pure unabashed self will find ways to hide but for now she reveals all.

When we grow we add layer upon layer…

How many layers do I take off
by January Handl

How many layers do I take off
until I am naked?
What, besides clothes,
skin, muscle, tendon and bone
will leave me bare
to the elements of this
Existence?

Grief is the paring knife
Love is the sun burning
through my facades
My masks
My protections
My maneuvering mind
To the deepest
Hidden parts

I actually fly past
Wounds
Wackiness
Crazy coping
and hardened skin thick
I slow near the
Dizzying heights
Of ecstatic release…
Shear fluid being
And
rooted presence

To hover near
the still core
that is unchanged by
Circumstance
Experience
Temperament
even Pulse and Breath
fade
when
I am
finally
finally
Naked
to
the
Essence
we all
share

Baby Natasha shares her whole essence easily. For us it is harder. We  have, as January so beautifully shares, added layer upon layer making it difficult to find our own essential core.

This week our Bliss Initiative is to strip the covering away. Let us remove the layers and expose more. Tender or bold steps are equally welcome. Take a chance, and reveal a bit more than is customary for you. Feel the edges of your metaphoric and physical coverings and select a few to let fall.

What would you like to reveal? What might be possible if you did?

Being naked is about our essence. With clothing or without we can choose to share or hide. This week try letting your covering drop. Be open, be honest, be exposed.

It is time to get naked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tamara and January are here each Monday to help set the mood for the week!

Tamara Magnitsky

My mission is fulfilling a lifelong desire to be a creative professional making a positive difference in the lives of those I encounter. Photographing unique personalities in a fun and relaxed environment. To challenge myself creatively, listen deeply and take a damn good picture.
See Tamara’s photography on her Facebook Page.

 

 

January Handl

January Handl is first and always a mother, has been a preschool teacher and parent educator for 25 years. She is currently lives in Aptos California AND simply in awe of existence.

She calls her photo “hot tub bliss”  🙂