Living Au Naturel

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, we are in late summer. March here is the equivalent of Northern September. The temperature inside our double-walled brick house tends to be about 78F, or 26C,
which I think is absolutely perfect for being naked, which is how I usually am. I calculate that, on average, I am naked 80% of the time. I wish it were 100%, but I haven't managed that yet.

One of the great things about this house (which we will soon be leaving), aside from it's excellent insulation from the outside highs and lows, is the amount of privacy that it provides. It isn't perfect privacy, but in a tolerant country such as this, it is sufficient. A few years ago, some visitors from Portland, Oregon (by any measure, one of the more liberal places in the US) were amazed that we could just walk around the backyard naked, which we were all doing. We swim naked, I clean the pool naked (which gives me a nice, all-over tan), I garden naked, and weather permitting, I do pretty much everything around here naked.

To be sure, this is one of the things that I will miss about this place. Yesterday, an Uruguayan couple that we know came to say goodbye to us. It took me a while to answer the door, and when I did, I was wearing a bathrobe. They were afraid that they had come too early and we had been sleeping, I explained that it wasn't that, but that I had been naked when they rang the bell, and that I'm that way most of the time. They told me that they were the same way at home. I was happy to hear it, and not really surprised, knowing them.

It is hard to explain to one who has not tried it the pleasure of living naturally.

Fortunately, we are moving to a place where naturists are well established, and the climate is mild. I should feel right at home.

Be well, and thank you for reading my blog.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

This Body Is a Symbol

This body is a symbol of a man
and a life,
but it is not the man,
nor is it the life.
It is a mixture of
sagas and happenstance,
prehistory and slow mutation,
and it represents
endless lives.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

He Sits Between the Worlds / ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎤᏬᎳᏎ ᎡᏆ-ᎡᎶᎯᏗ ᎠᏰᎵ

He sits between the worlds,
unbound by time and space,
unobstructed,
seeing his bones explode
into a firmament of stars.

ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎤᏬᎳᏎ ᎡᏆ-ᎡᎶᎯᏗ ᎠᏰᎵ,
Ꮭ ᎦᎸᏍᏗᏔ ᎢᎪᎯᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏜᏅᏛ ᏗᎬᏩᎶᏒ,
Ꮭ ᎢᎬᏯᏗᏟᏔ,
ᎪᏩᏔᏁᏖ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎪᎳᏗᏁ ᎠᏔᏍᎩ
ᎦᎸᎶᎢ ᏃᏈᏏᏗ ᎾᎿᎢ.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

Shank's Mare Is Not So Bad

Because Sandy and I are moving from one continent to another, we're liquidating our assets here in Uruguay. That is why I had occasion to get up early this morning and take our car in before breakfast to get it thoroughly cleaned. That is something we have never done for ourselves, but we did it for the people who are buying it. Since it is our one remaining car, I had to get back home on "Shank's mare," a trip of about twenty minutes at my own leisurely pace.

Along the way I noticed the smell of the Eucalyptus leaves and seeds, though it was a different species from the more fragrant ones in California. Still, it is one of my favorite smells. I noticed, in fact, every little detail of my environment on that walk to the house that will only be ours for five more days.

Later, between breakfast and beer time, I walked back to the "lavadero de autos" to get the car, this time a spotlessly clean version, that will also only be ours for a little while. Along the way, I smelled pine needles strewn on the ground, and it reminded me of childhood camping trips and mountain outings when I was a young man. It also reminded me of our house in Brevard, NC, where there were thirty White Pines on our property, and white squirrels in the trees.

It also reminded me of my childhood. Children usually get a bicycle by the time they're eleven, if not before, but for the first ten years of their lives they are largely pedestrians. They are closer to the soil, and to the details of their environment. If you don't think that's important, you really should think again. We need to get back to it.

My next rambling discourse will probably be from Florida (though there could be one from the beach at Aguas Dulces). In the meantime, be well.

Text © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler. Photo by my cousin Fergus McCarthy, of Midleton, Cork.

Mammal and Machine

Mammal and machine coexist,
but which has the greater potential?
We cannot compete
with silicon speed,
yet the hardware brain
has no heart,
and no intuition.
Our thought processes
are slow,
yet adaptable to any condition.
Our memories have little recollection,
yet we have a divine connection.

But more, more than all the above,
we have the ability
to love.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

Universal Beliefs / ᎢᎬᏩᎾᏓᎴᎩ ᎤᏬᎯᏳᏒᏗ

My religion is the oldest in the world.
I believe those things
that humans have always believed.
The elements of my religion
were said by Aquinas
to be a proof of
the existence
of God.

I have no need
for another creed.


ᎠᏆ ᏗᏁᎸᏙᏗ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᎦᏴᎵᎨᏍᏙᏗ
ᎡᏆ-ᎡᎶᎯ ᎾᎿ.
ᎠᏯ ᎤᏬᎯᏳᎭᏎ Ꮎ ᏴᏫ
ᏂᎪᎯᎸᎢ ᎤᏬᎯᏳᎯᏎ.
ᏑᏓᎴᎩᏗ ᎠᏆ ᏗᏁᎸᏙᏗ
ᎨᏒᎢᏎ ᎯᏁᎩᏔ ᎠᏈᎾ* ᏗᎬᏩᎶᏒ
ᎨᏒᎢ ᎪᎯᏳᏙᏗ ᎬᏂᎨᏒ-ᏄᏍᏛᎢ
ᎡᏆ-ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎥᎿᎢ.

ᎠᏯ Ꮭ ᎤᏚᎳᏓᏎ
ᏐᎢ ᏗᏁᎸᏙᏗᏁ.


*ᏗᎦᏃᏣᎵ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ Ꮎ ᎠᎦᏎᏍᏙᏗᏎ ᎠᎴ ᎪᏪᎶᏗᏎ ᎡᏆ-ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎠᏂᏰᎸᏍᎬ.

Text © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

This Body Is the Carrier / ᎯᎠ ᎠᏰᎸ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏫᏗᏍᎩ

This body is the carrier of the seed,
and the vehicle of spirit.
It is what it is,
and is not to be hidden
or denied.

If we shall have salvation,
it will come from us,
in these bodies.


ᎯᎠ ᎠᏰᎸ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏫᏗᏍᎩ ᎤᎦᏔ ᎥᎿᎢ,
ᎠᎴ ᎠᏦᏚᏗ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎥᎿᎢ.
ᎨᏒᎠᏎ Ꮎ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ,
ᎠᎴ Ꮭ ᎠᏎᎤᏎ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᏗᏍᎦᎶᏗᏔ
ᎠᎴ ᎠᏓᏯᏍᏗᏔ.

ᎢᏳᏃ ᎢᏧᎳ ᎤᎰᏎ ᎥᏓᏍᏕᎸᏗᏁ,
ᏅᎶᏎ ᎢᏧᎸ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ,
ᎾᏍᎩ-ᎯᎠ ᎠᏰᎸᏗ ᎭᏫᎾ.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.