A few weeks in and I am completely hooked. This is a rather European thing to do - sauna evenings I mean. I am shocked as to why we do not do more of this in Canada. It seems like sort of a Canadian thing to do.
At first I was rather tentative. Particularly because the whole sauna thing requires one to be comfortable with nudity. At one point and time in my life I would have have refused absolutely to entertain the notion of shedding my clothes. However, as the years melt into each other, I find myself adopting more and more of the European ways. I have learned to enjoy a minimalist lifestyle, I spend money differently than I did back in Canada, I have completely embraced the social routines associated with Swiss life and now I have joined the countless others who head on down to the sauna and shed their attire for a few hours of self indulgence.
As a Canadian, I am filled with the inhibitions that come with our society. I simply didn't get the whole naked sauna thing. My friends here could not understand why I was so uptight . But, as the years pass, my learned Canadian inhibitions become less prevalent. And then the day came when I was ready to give it a whirl.
I tried to explain to my friend after how the experience moved me. For her it is a normal thing to do. But for me, I had to accept myself as I was. There was no where to hide. As I sat in the scorching heat of the sauna I felt free. No one cared about how I looked. Nor did I them. We were there for something else. We were there to enjoy the quiet, the heat, and the pleasure of self indulgence. And the losing the clothes thing? Not such a big deal after all...
At first I was rather tentative. Particularly because the whole sauna thing requires one to be comfortable with nudity. At one point and time in my life I would have have refused absolutely to entertain the notion of shedding my clothes. However, as the years melt into each other, I find myself adopting more and more of the European ways. I have learned to enjoy a minimalist lifestyle, I spend money differently than I did back in Canada, I have completely embraced the social routines associated with Swiss life and now I have joined the countless others who head on down to the sauna and shed their attire for a few hours of self indulgence.
As a Canadian, I am filled with the inhibitions that come with our society. I simply didn't get the whole naked sauna thing. My friends here could not understand why I was so uptight . But, as the years pass, my learned Canadian inhibitions become less prevalent. And then the day came when I was ready to give it a whirl.
I tried to explain to my friend after how the experience moved me. For her it is a normal thing to do. But for me, I had to accept myself as I was. There was no where to hide. As I sat in the scorching heat of the sauna I felt free. No one cared about how I looked. Nor did I them. We were there for something else. We were there to enjoy the quiet, the heat, and the pleasure of self indulgence. And the losing the clothes thing? Not such a big deal after all...
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