Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed walking bare foot. Much to my mothers dismay, I would often step on things that would cut my feet. I would come to her crying, bleeding, and hobbling on my heels. She would remove the offending item, patch me up, tell me to go put some shoes on, and send me on my way. While the pain was unpleasant, it never deterred me from walking and playing barefoot. My feet were rough, calloused, and often black with dirt by the end of the day, but I didn’t care. I loved the connection I felt with the ground beneath me. How, with each step the texture and terrain could change. Soft sand, cool grass, hard concrete, cold tile, plush carpet. I would let me feet sink in, gripping the ground with my toes, I felt a sense of delight. There I was, just me and the world beneath my feet.
As I got older, I conformed and became a shoe enthusiast. I appreciated their functionality and ability to protect, yet no matter how beautiful they were, the shoes always hurt my feet. They would rub and wear on my heals or squeeze and blisters my toes. The hard edges would cut at the sides of my feet, and I wanted nothing more than to free them from their fashionable bondage. To release them from their culturally curated confines. I longed to reconnect with the ground beneath me and feel the released.
This week I encourage you all to walk barefoot in both the literal and figurative sense. Allow yourself to feel the world through the soles of your feet. Pay attention to the rough patches and smooth edges. Notice the subtle changes, wiggle your toes and flex your muscles. If walking barefoot is not you thing, do whatever it is that makes you feel connected to the world. Be it going for a walk or sitting in quiet meditation. Take a few moments to breathe, be at ease, and feel unconfined.
Today’s Motivation is,
“ To know others is to have wisdom. To know oneself is to gain enlightenment. To master others is to have strength. To master oneself is to have power. To know what is sufficient is to be rich. To act with determination is to have will. Not to lose one’s place is to endure. To die without being forgotten is to be eternal.”
~ Lao-tzu