Picture this! One evening in early March, you go about the last few
minutes before bed planning what you are going to do the next day. You
have just pulled off your socks, and barefoot for the first time since
the morning, you lay out next to your bed the attire you plan to wear
the next day. Some hours later, that alarm on your nightstand goes off
and craving those few minutes of extra sleep, you hit the snooze one or
two times. Finally after battling with your subconscious, you roll out
of bed. You pad over to your sink in your bare feet, and wash up, brush
your teeth and proceed to get dressed for the day, putting on that
jacket and tie, blouse or dress. The time seems to flash by and you
realize that you'd better hit the road.
Forgot Your Shoes?
You
rush out the door and while waiting for the bus or train, or waiting to
receive a package at the UPS office, you casually glance around. Your
eyes are drawn to the shmorgasborg of footwear that is surrounding you. A
pair of running sneakers paired with ankle socks. Next to that a pair
of worn out scuffed up work boots flanked by a pair of jeans. A lady
wearing a pair of elegant high heel boots with stockings making her legs
appear as they were dipped in a bottle of indian ink. As you shift your
stance, you feel your toes bend and as soon as your heel lands softly
but unimpeded on the cool pavement, you realize that something is quite
not right, but at the same time, it is so right.
You finally force
yourself to look down and much to your shock, that your toes are in
plain view and between your bare soles and the ground exists nothing in
between. Before you tell yourself to snap out of it - it is only your
imagination, something brings you back to reality when the lady beside
you asks matter-of-factly, "forgot your shoes?"
You look down
again and tell yourself that it can't be. But there are your toes
staring back up at you. You feel the pavement underneath get colder as
your foot feels the reality underneath. You lift up one foot and turn it
in to notice your bare sole, now blackened from having not worn any
footwear since the night before. You put your bare foot back down and
look around again to realize that all those looks of those around you -
some chuckles, some in shock or slight smiles - are fixed on your bare
feet - quite a rare sight!Not even a pair of socks or the most
minimalist footwear like flip flops - your feet in the raw! You feel
like you're having one of those nightmares where you are naked in the
company of everyone around you that is clothed.
Chances are you
may react by clutching the side of your head in disbelief as you utter -
"OMG! I can't believe I forgot to put on my shoes and socks! How was I
barefoot this whole time?!"
You are ready to panic and dash home
if you are close enough to scramble into your shoes and socks. If you
are far from home already, you resign yourself to the fact you're
somewhat naked - stuck in your bare feet while you toggle through your
mind looking for first excuse you can find to tell them that you're
going be late for your job or interview - any way to avoid of being seen
"GASP" barefoot!
Now rest assured, chances are that since putting
on footwear before leaving your home is so routine, it is highly
unlikely that this will ever happen to you.
Let's say it did,
however. Another feeling comes over you. You shrug and smile at those
around you as if to say, "hey, look at that. I'm barefoot on a cool
winter day!" It could actually be fun and you may relish in the fact
that while others are bundled up, their feet separated from the outside
world in their shoes and socks, here you are experiencing full freedom
by feeling the cool ground underneath your bare feet.
I know I do.
Many times I'm asked if I forgot my shoes. The question tends to be
irrelevant since most of the time I don't wear shoes or socks at all.
Sometimes
the answer is yes - since I'm so used to having absolutely nothing on
my feet, those seldom occasions where I feel that footwear might make a
favorable first impression, I'll end up anyway forgetting to bring along
my footwear and end up coming to my appointments or meetings barefoot.
But
rather than panicking, I end up being thrilled as I look forward to
another day of living a healthy lifestyle in my naturally reliable bare
feet and go forward with what I was planning to do for the day.
Barefoot as a Healthy Lifestyle
