DressedUP: Barefooters Unite!

It is AlphabeThursday again and today's letter is B. First off, I had no idea this was even a movement, but it turns out...it is. I am a barefoot kinda girl.  Growing up in sunny California, there was little reason to wear shoes as a child. Our feet were tough as any shoe leather. 110 degrees is not uncommon in my hometown. A favorite childhood game (if you could call it that) was to see who could withstand the heat of the asphalt the longest before running...and I mean RUNning for the lawn.  By the end of the summer the kids in my neighborhood could have walked a bed of hot coals without so much as a hint of a blister. We went everywhere barefooted, including the 7/11. That is, of course, until school started again and we were forced by society to shove our feet into those little torture devices called shoes.  Mary Janes, saddle shoes, Keds or Chucks...it did not matter...shoes were torture.

For me, things have not changed...much. Except for the fact that I live in Idaho and it snows here 9 months out of 12,  I still hate shoes, but wear them out of necessity. During the warm months, I go barefooted. A few neighbors have taken up a little friendly taunting as I walk passed them barefooted on the 1/2 mile walk to pick kids up from school. Turns out there is a term for it even. According to Wikipedia someone who prefers to not wear shoes in public is known as a "barefooter." Barefooted running and hiking are becoming quite popular. There are books on the subject and even whole "societies" dedicated to furthering the cause of the Barefooter.  Who knew? Must be kids like me who grew up in the 70's and are having a difficult time converting to Shoers. Footwearers? Shod?

Hunky Hubby recently purchased a pair of Vibram Five Fingers for me. Those are the crazy shoes I am wearing in the pic. It is as close to going barefoot as one can imagine while wearing shoes.  I feel quite liberated!  The piggies are free in these shoes for one thing, not all bunched up in a little ball at the end of   shoes. And I don't even own girly shoes! I cannot imagine what you ladies in heals are feeling. Don't tell me, I don't want to know.  All I can say is...free the piggies, girls...free them!

There is something so natural and so visceral about going barefooted. Every texture of the earth is so available to us. There is a deep connectedness to the ground that we walk on without shoes. I know it sounds silly and most ladies would never even consider going out in public without the perfect footwear.  I get it. I guess. But as a naturegirl, I get think I need the sensations of connecting to my surroundings even in this small way. Go ahead laugh, but it really is mindset. A life philosophy even, silly and frivolous as it sounds. Removing what we can from our external forms so that our internal senses can more freely connect to nature and our surroundings. Shoes is just an example. The idea I guess, is letting go of those THINGS that keep us from really experiencing those surroundings. Not just being IN nature but becoming PART of it. Getting dirty, sleeping under the stars, standing still a rainstorm, catching snowflakes on our tongues, eating what we grow, shutting down TV and radio to listen to the birds chirp outside the window or waking up early to watch the sunrise. I have two little birds making a nest outside my kitchen window. I stood for quite sometime just watching them. I could not take my eyes off of them. So naturally they went about their work. Instinctually. It was lovely. I will take the time to watch the birds, and I will go barefooted.

Quote of the Day: ""Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolise a way of living — being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It's the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It's a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature."

— Adele Coombs, "Barefoot Dreaming"