Nude Presence - Religious, Spiritua
This Group was created for those of us who are nudists and understand that our sexuality is part of who we are. We also have a website and flickr for sharing what we cannot show here in the TN community. If you are Spiritual, you are welcome to share and discuss.
- created by nudepresence
Lust...What is it? What do you think about it?
Return to DiscussionsI think appreciation is, for me, when i see a naked man and think good for him. Lust is when i see a naked man and want to touch his body in any way.
I think most nudists appreciate any man/woman naked. We all check out each other and appreciate what we see. Lust is what grows me some downstairs while Im appreciating.
I see no issues with lust personally. Respect, control, and boundaries should all be associated with lust though. Just because (as an example) i lust after that you does not mean in any way that youd think the same of me. And that should always be respected.
To me at least, lust is stronger than desire. I often desire a good steak or chocolate chip cookie. Desires can usually be easily controlled. Lust always feels a bit stronger, a bit more out of control to me.
Three levels:- appreciation, lust and love. I guess we all appreciate other nudists - be it simple people-watching, as an artform (nudes are so beautiful) or something more. It may even extend to fascination. Lust is a whole new level, one which causes a stirring in our loins. And most probably we can't keep our hands off each other. When I first met my wife we were deeply in lust, like a pair of rampant rabbits. As time went by the lust changed to love which deepened whilst the sexual activity faded. And we stayed in love for over 30 years until her death parted us. And that's the third level. A few years later I discovered nudity and a few years after that I discovered the attraction of men. But that's another story.
That corresponds roughly with my take on it. Desire becomes lust, in the sense of sin, when it interferes with a person's ability to navigate life in a way that doesn't harm other people. Desire is to lust what a fondness for gambling is to gambling addiction, or an appreciation for wine is to alcoholism.
There are direct correlations in other sins:
A love of the varieties of food / gluttony
High self-esteem / pride
Concern for another's situation in life / envy
Due concern for personal wealth / avarice
Not driving yourself needlessly / sloth
Discontent with something in life / wrath
In each case, it's not the presence of the thing, but the degree to which the thing interferes with life and the harm it does to ones self and to others.