Some thoughts about freedom, from a Naked guy.

Freedom is important to me. And there is nothing more free than this feeling of just walking down the street, here in this big, beautiful city, without a stitch of clothes on. I swear, you really need to try this. I feel let loose, liberated. In so many ways, I feel the warmth of the entire world on my skin and the passion and power of the human experience welling up in me. And I feel a little singed because I just cooked some bacon earlier.

Don't do this, by the way, until you put some pants on. I know that cooking is an art and art is supposed to hurt sometimes but really. At the end of the day, Art should soothe the soul, not deep fry the bellybutton. Anywho. It's a beautiful day and I feel so liberated. It's a great day to walk down the street and ask some people what freedom really means to them.

Before we do that, I want to talk a little about what freedom means to me. I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do and they are such a huge part of who I want to be. I feel good controlling who I am, not just letting it happen randomly. So I make powerful decisions sometimes. Decisions that impact my life and the people around me. I like to put effort into those decisions, which means that, ironically, my freedom requires a lot of work. Freedom isn't free, as they say. But that's just how I think. How about you, sir, what do you think about freedom?

Man: Jeez, dude. Put some pants on.

Let me just ask you a few questions if you have a second, about freedom and what it means to you to be free.

Man: Do you want to talk about some pants? We could talk about a pair of shorts.

When you really think about being free, what comes to your mind. What are you free to do? What not to do?

Man: Dude, up to a minute ago I was completely free not to spend time in the same area as a naked guy. I no longer have that freedom.

All right. Freedom can be the right not to be exposed to things that might hurt you.

Man: I didn't say it was going to hurt me. I just want it a few more feet away from me.

Things that make you feel inferior, maybe.

Man: Don't flatter yourself, little dude. Look, man, I don't think we are free to not be exposed to stuff. It's a big world and I don't want people trying to keep me from being a part of it. I just want to be free to walk away from the truly weird stuff. Like this

Thank you. Thanks. Bye. Hm. Interesting. To that man, freedom wasn't about being sheltered from things, but about having the ability to walk away when he needed to. He could have chosen anything. That's where he went with it.

It is a great day, I have to admit. The sun is up, shining. This is brilliant. Excuse me, ma'am, do you have any insight into what it means to be free?

Lady: Eeeek. You scared the crap out of me. What's wrong with your skin?

Oh, this. It's SPF 50 sunscreen. It's a beautiful day, full of promise and sunshine. Mostly sunshine, though. Just last week, I got a little all over sunburn, so I just wanted to stop that from happening now.

Lady: Hey, this could be a totally unwelcome newsflash, son, but couldn't you just put some clothes on

A-ha. This is me- free. This is how I exercise my freedom. I'm out asking people what freedom means to them. To me, freedom is about liberation- being myself naked and happy in the sunshine.

Lady: It looks like you're wearing a white suit. But it doesn't look like it quite enough, if you know what I mean?

What do YOU think freedom means? What images are conjured up when you think about freedom?

Lady: I know what images I'm trying to get rid of from my mind right now. Images? Hm. I think that freedom can be about being able to be yourself- no matter how silly that self is.

Silliness? The freedom to be silly. Interesting.

Lady: Can you actually breathe underneath all that gunk?

So it's about being you. Being the person you are. Being free to express that somehow?

Lady: Uh. Yeah.

Excellent. These are good answers. Fantastic. I feel like we are really getting to the heart of this issue, thanks. As we move along and get more input, I feel like it might be hard to really nail down Freedom, liberty, etc. as they are in the world. A 3 year old might think of freedom as being able to cross the street on his own or a 30 year old might think that freedom means being with the person they love. Being free to love like that. I personally am thinking that I am free to get a cup of coffee. Excuse me. Can I get a Grande Mocha Soy.


Barrista: It's actually Soy Mocha Grande. And you can't be in here like that.

See, here, freedom might mean the ability to make up your own names for products and have people just mindlessly repeat them the way you want or no coffee for them, eh? That's my little joke.

Barrista: Are you completely coverered in ice cream?

Ah. I see the dilemma. My sunscreen. Let me wipe this off. Can I grab these napkins?

Barrista: Here, man, take as many as you need. Cover yourself, please.

Wow. These are tiny little napkins, right? Let me ask you, sir. What do you think freedom means to you?

Barrista: Jeez, man, you are one hairy guy.

If you had to think about it,consider freedom as a person, what would you say?

Barrista: It's like you're some kind of a giant muppet or something. You're Robin Williams Hairy

That's funny. A muppet

Barrista: I think you're freaking out the customers, man.

So freedom for you might mean the ability to control what goes on in your store- in your space?

Barrista: Actually, that's really more about health code violations, man.

The freedom to make sure you are following the law? The freedom to just follow that law?

Barrista: Yeah, not so much, man. It's really more about the freedom not to have to fish your chesthair out of some guy's Chai Tea Latte.

The freedom from harm. Safety is a kind of freedom, isn't it? Being safe means that you are free to do things you couldn't do if you weren't safe.

Barrista: I probably need to call a cop soon, man.

All right then. Freedom, from our young man, here, the right to be safe is a kind of freedom. Adios, my friend. Thanks for pitching in on our thoughts on this.

Barrista: Yep. Anytime, naked guy.

Moving on, we have more people to talk to, more questions to ask. Can we think about freedom in the way our friends and family do? Can we step outside what WE think of as freedom and think about other people's ideas. How about you, young lady, what do you think about freedom?

Girl: Hot crap, are you freaking naked?

See, direct. This is how our communication with other people should be. We see something. We comment on it. We solve problems

Girl: No way are you just walking around like that. No way.

Way, very much way. This is what freedom means to me. I am free to express who I am, unencumbered by clothing or disguise. I can be part of the world

Girl: Well, please don't be part of my world.

And we can think about what it means to be free to you. What do YOU think freedom means?

Girl: I'm sorry, freak, I can't just talk to you like that. Can you stand behind the tree.

Certainly. Space. That's a kind of freedom. Your personal space. This is me behind the tree.

Girl: You should get all of you behind the tree.

Ok, there we go. What do YOU think of as freedom?

Girl: It's like, the right to do what's appropriate for ME, not following some rules made for other people.

All right, freedom for you is having the people around you notice YOU, not put you in a different box?

Girl: Yeah. It's about being me and having smart rules. You're not behind the tree.

Sorry. This has been interesting. I feel liberated in my quest to make myself understand what freedom is to the people around me. I feel open to the world of possibilities. I feel a little chilly now, too, I have to admit. Sometimes you ask yourself about the answers you get. Would they be different if you asked them? Would they be different if someone asked you? Would they be different if I were wearing underwear?

Who knows.