The act of being completely naked in front of strangers; the fear dreams (or call it a nightmare) are made of. When the show Fear Factor was hot (years ago), walking down a small strip of street or just standing for a few minutes naked would have been my failure and losing the money (although meeting Joe Rogan would have been pretty cool).

Now? Well now I have grown into my skin and although I would be most uncomfortable, my inner strength from years past would allow me to not only voluntarily ride horseback through town, as Lady Godiva did, but not cower or try to cover up in the process (you want to take a look, God bless you and I hope you don’t go blind…).

Being naked, for most, is the utmost form of vulnerability; there is nowhere to hide… all of your blemishes, love handles, scars of many lives past are there in the open for all to see and for some admire, while others, only judge. A very difficult feeling to embrace and turn into a strength but I think I am finally there.

How do I compare Lady Godiva to Joan of Arc for my costume? Both were such strong females in their own way, doing what they knew was right… not what was easy. I try very hard to live by this and tell my daughter as well. The right way is typically the harder way. It challenges you to dig deep and make the decision to define who you are as a person– not so much to others, but to yourself.

Two different costumes with the same core message; one wears nothing while the other wears a suit of armor; both take the inner strength, fortitude, and on some level, bravery that I think I can now pull off.

Masks Off – the Daily Post