Tuesday, December 28, 2010

First and Foremost

To satisfy your curiosity, I feel I should explain the name of this blog before continuing on. It wasn't my first choice. "The Naked Truth" was taken, and so after trying variations of the phrase, I settled for "Buck Ass Naked." It's a bit rough around the edges, but it will do.

About 3 years ago, I came to a critical point in my life. I had reached a ceiling that I could not go beyond without ridding myself of all clothing, metaphorically speaking, of course. It wasn't enough to just remove a hat or coat. The clothes I wore had not only held me back, but also created problems that could ultimately destroy my life. The situations I found myself in seemed to violently tear and rip away at my clothing, but after being freed from their restrictive and destructive nature, I realized that the only way to truly live was buck ass naked. This is the naked truth. The world needs to get naked. People need to get real. It's much easier to accept someones flaws when they don't try to hide them. If we stop pretending "it's all good" then we can actually make life great. Really great.

The moment we completely let go and stop hiding behind the clothes we wear, life begins. It's from that place of freedom that we can truly build a great life. When I reached that point in my own life, things did not suddenly fall into perfect place. I walked a tough and painful road, but I was free.

I believe in faith and love. Faith that we can achieve great things in life despite our shortcomings and past failures, and love that is blind to the shortcomings and past failures of those around us. If I expect you to accept me buck ass naked, then I must also accept you buck ass naked. Over and over again my life has been changed by people who were considered "flawed" by the majority, but who are we to judge the lives of others?

The Naked Truth:
 A man and a woman once lived in a garden. There was only one rule in that garden. "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Now, although the man and woman were both naked, "neither of them felt any shame." One day, the woman was convinced that there was no harm in eating the forbidden fruit. She and her husband ate it. "At that moment, they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness." They covered themselves with leaves and hid. Then God called out to them, "Where are you?" The man and woman replied, "We were afraid because we are naked." God replied, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten the fruit I commanded you not to eat!"

They were created to be free.
They were created naked.
They were created without knowledge of good and evil.
They chose the knowledge.
They felt shame.

God did not say, "Why are you naked?" He said, "Who told you that you were naked?" In other words, "Who judged you?" They were not meant to have the knowledge of good and evil or to judge what was good and evil. They were naked before the knowledge and remained naked after the knowledge. Shame was self-inflicted. They were created free but chose judgement. As the story goes, a plan was set in place so that all would be set free again. Recreated.

This is the foundation of my life and the core of this blog. I don't have all the answers. I don't have it all figured out. I will make mistakes and I will offend people. But, that's what it takes to live buck ass naked. I'm gonna be me. You be you. We are all unique and have a life to live. I refuse to waste any time living by the standards of others. Time is money. Don't let other people spend yours.