Bare

When I saw this cartoon, I was 5. But I remember how I just wanted to draw something that inspired me as the jungle background was introduced. At that young age, I was mesmerized by the beauty represented by the work and the actual jungle itself. Art.

The story was too long for me so I fell asleep about half way through but not before this song. "Bear Necessity" as a pun for bare necessities of life had to wait until I arrived in the States a few years after that for my appreciation. But the meaning of having the minimum needed to live took nearly another half Century.

I'm just seeing what I really need to live as myself. Being bare is to be naked and that is one of hardest hurdles to self discovery. Even the most beautiful models need to work to look their best and there is no guarantee they themselves feel validated by their outward beauty. All the hard work to look great for that photo shoot is not a guarantee for self fulfillment.

I took getting "naked" in all senses of the word for me to see my bare necessities. And now I see that it is so liberating. I realize the most important things really are free.

Yeah the video looks so grainy and old. But I feel how precious the relationships that have stuck through thick and thin are really really priceless and wonderful. I have seen the soul of another person who loves me back. The surprise is that some of them have been there all along even after time apart. Others are new people who seem to have been waiting to meet.

Although I have always embraced the importance of people as the center of life, I never felt the overwhelming importance these moments are for the time I am by myself, when I am dreaming, planning and creating.

I am not talking about a cartoon but a collection of things I do, say, publish, sing, dance, live. I just want to do it so that at least I am inspired. Then maybe my soul mates will share in the joy too. That is my bear necessity of life.