What the World Would be Like if More People Walked Barefoot
Today my husband and I were walking home from a concert and my feet were really hurting from my shoes. Next thing I knew I was walking down the streets of Tel Aviv barefoot.
All I can say is: What a relief! I couldn’t believe how good and natural it felt. I honestly felt like I was connecting with the Earth, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. What was even more astonishing was that every person who walked by didn’t seem to give it a second glance. It seemed so natural, both to me and to the people who noticed, that it made me wonder: Why don’t more people walk around barefoot? And what would the world be like if we did?
Young at Heart, Young in Spirit
Do you remember how good it felt to go barefoot when you were a child? The first thing that instantly crossed my mind was how young it made me feel. I literally felt like a little girl again. Short of starting to skip down the street, I instantly felt light-hearted, free-spirited and without a care in the world. Now imagine the entire world population feeling that way collectively…
Comfort Comes First
Think about it: when we can’t wait to get home and relax after a hard day, doesn’t this involve kicking off our shoes in order to do so? Or, if we are planning a holiday or nice, relaxing vacation, don’t we factor in the proximity of sandy beaches, grassy fields or a natural trail well-suited for bare feet? Can any of us truly imagine being fully comfortable while wearing shoes? I don’t think so. The fact of the matter is that wearing shoes is unnatural, unhealthy (more on that below) and basically very confining. If people felt more comfortable physically, they are more likely to be happier, less stressed by the insignificant things in life, and ultimately healthier.
Bye Bye to Troubled Tootsies
According to Wikipedia, a 2006 study found that shoes may increase stresses on the knee and ankle, and suggested that adults with osteoarthritis may benefit from walking barefoot. In the now out-of-print 1960 classic “Take Off Your Shoes and Walk
Fill Up on Chi
According to certain ancient philosophies, life-force energy known as Chi can be absorbed through the soles of the feet. Ground Chi is absorbed automatically and unconsciously when walking barefoot, which then increases the amount of Chi absorbed by the body.
It has been said that people can consciously learn to absorb more Chi from the ground as they walk an ultimately increase their vitality, their work capacity and their ability to think more clearly!
Explore Your Senses
Why render our feet deaf and blind if we don’t need to? Imagine having to wear gloves or ear plugs every time you left the house. Think of all the wonderful sensory input you would miss out on. Now imagine expanding avenues of sensory input. Imagine being able to feel the wide variety of interesting textures and pleasant surfaces beneath your own two feet as you go about your daily business. Imagine the physical, spiritual and mental freedom that goes along with freeing your feet.
Less Noise
Imagine a world free of those annoying sounds of clicking heels, slapping flipflops or stomping boots. Ahh…the sounds of silence.
The End of Stinky Feet
Although picturing a world full of bare feet might get your nose cringing (there’s nothing I hate worse than stinky feet), the truth is that foot odor cannot technically exist unless you just took off closed shoes. ‘Foot odor’ should really be called ’shoe odor’ since it is caused not by the sweat itself but rather by bacteria breaking down the sweat in anaerobe circumstances (with lack of oxygen) as happens inside closed shoes. No matter how much you sweat on a hot day, on a bare foot the sweat dries up without producing the odor.
A Cleaner, Greener Environment
Unfortunately, one of the things that hindered my enjoyment of the experience was trying to avoid gum, cigarette butts, dog poop and other trash along the way. But then suddenly it hit me… If walking barefoot became acceptable in today’s society, if more and more people would start doing it:
The End of the World As We Know It
A barefooted population could drastically change the world as we know it, in every aspects of our current life situations. But unfortunately, all too often people are afraid of change. But what is it that we are really afraid of? In the words of Barbara Holland, author of Endangered Pleasures
Maybe the whole world secretly understands that free feet produce a different, more philosophical, relaxed, and unbusinesslike mindset. Without shoes, our ambitions would fade away, wolfish trade practices seem too much trouble, international frictions look foolish. Armies would curl up to take a nap. Nobody would get any serious work done and the world would go straight to hell.
Well, if going barefoot would mean the end of our curent world of ego, greed, stress, conflict and war, then all that’s left to say is: take off those darn shoes already!
***
So the next time you choose to put on those confining shoes, remember this:
Despite of persistent myths in the US, there are currently NO health laws against bare feet, insurance companies don’t require or even recommend footwear for their customers, and there are NO laws against driving barefoot. Individual stores may have a dress code but there are many stores even in the US that don’t care; in other countries it’s rarely an issue at all.
The truth is we all have the freedom to go barefoot whenever and wherever we want. Most of us, however, just don’t realize it.
If we knew it was OK to forget about shoes when it was time for walking the dog, getting the mail, or even while out shopping, how many of us would choose to go barefoot?
Well, guess what? You can.
Recommended Book:
Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences
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what a loser