Thursday, April 28, 2011

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"




18 comments:

  1. I'm a barefoot girl, but only inside. The second I hit the threshold, my shoes come off. I get it. But outside, I'm a shoe girl. The world is hard and pointed and hurts my feet. Except for what I call "barefoot grass." The thick, green, soft carpet of grass so appealing I can only walk on it barefoot.

    Maybe this is my childhood coming to the fore, growing up in the same harsh winters you live in now. Gotta protect those piggies. And I love a great heel for Sundays. But despite all that, I totally get it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, I'm a barefooter also! I only wear shoes when I absolutely have to...

    ReplyDelete
  3. AMEN!! I am and always will be a barefoot girl-I love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I grew up mostly barefoot for pretty much the same reasons. After too many years in a cold place, I'll walk around barefoot in the house but not outside. Any shoes I wear MUST be comfy though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's a sign of spring when I have dirty feet from being outside barefoot!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I felt a few immediate connections to your blog when I got here. First your SE ID? I grew up in Twin Falls, now transplanted to AZ. I never tire of the green irrigated fields of southern ID.
    Second, Vibramm? My hubby wears those all the time. I actually tried on a pair, but my little hammer toes couldn't even fit into the pinky sleeve. Wear them for me, K?
    New follower from Alphabe-Thursday. I'll be back here, just to sense ID in your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My feet are always cold. I always seem to have shoes on.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love to be barefooted, as much as my husband cringes. He just doesn't get it. He hates when I let the kids go sans shoes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Barefootin though Alphabethursday and had to giggle at your post. I HATE SHOES is my mantra:) I went without as a child also; on unpaved rocky roads. Still barefoot inside but have had to put something on when going out in public...blah!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ah...I have been wondering how those toe shoes were to actually wear...I've been seeing them all over. You'll have to report back and let us know. I love being barefoot, but I also love a pair of red heels. I can't wait for summer...or Spring for that matter. Will it ever come?

    PS...it's snowing at my house today too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've been telling my husband that Vibrams would make a great gift for me at some point this year. I've got my fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've also grown up (and currently live) in California and am a big fan of barefeet as well! When I moved to Utah for school, I wore flip flops all the time....even in the winter....people thought I was crazy! But hey, flip flops are the next best thing to barefeet, even in the cold snowy crazy land of Utah =)

    stopping by from MMB!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've been wanting a pair of those for a year! have you tried running in them?
    and it is already barefoot season at my house...meaning my kids feet are always black!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love being barefoot too, and give me flip flops any time of year! I do like wearing fancy heels every once in a while though, but I get sick of em pretty fast.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I only wear shoes when I have to. Whenever I go to get a pedicure they yell at me...'wear shoe, wear shoe...no go baarfoot!'

    At Thanksgiving it was hilarious. One of my parents friends usually comes along...a woman of 92. She came in the door, stopped, looked at my feet, and said "I knew you wouldn't have shoes on!" ha!

    I've been looking at these shoes but they almost look uncomfortable. I'll have to give them a go.

    Thanks for a cute stop on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "B".

    A_

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those shoes are fantastic, although I doubt I could get my piggies in there. I too am a barefooter from Canada. Just North of Toronto here as soon as possible we barefoot in this family.
    When it cannot be done I wear my Birkenstocks or flip flops...I fight with my kids in September to wear their shoes too!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. at home, being barefoot is cool.
    summer time is a good time to go bare feet.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am a barefooter too! Shoes are not fun anywhere I can go barefoot I will!'!!!

    ReplyDelete