Brave Soles: Listening with Our Feet
I got a wild hair some years ago living back in D.C. and decided I was going to spend the whole summer barefoot- an experiment in “back to nature”, urban style. Of course, there were places I wasn’t allowed to go without shoes, but amazingly there were not as many of them as one might think. I just carried a pair of flip-flops in my backpack for when they were needed.
The experiment was weird and painful at first— a nuisance that slowed me down— but I quickly got some “toughness going” and then it became an amazing reawakening of something that was primal. My feet became a major source of information, like foreign correspondents who send in constant reports from the field. We’re so used to getting all our primary sensory information only via our head senses. It really is something to be in constant touch with all the varied textures of human-made and natural textures and temperatures throughout the day under your feet.
Recently I read in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine (June ’09) about barefooters who hike the Appalachian Trail. The article in the magazine reports there is a new Barefoot Hikers of Virginia group based out of Lynchburg. Amazingly, you can even check out a book all about it, The Barefoot Hiker, by Richard Franzine.
It’s true that at first, barefooting, can cause muscle soreness and you have to strengthen your bare soles. And you have to walk a bit differently— no shuffling, for example— to keep from stubbing toes. But being barefoot certainly aids in walking more quietly, and reportedly reduces stress on knees and back from being a more natural posture.
Now I don’t expect many people will be in a position to radically abandon footwear, but, perhaps a little bit of your time outdoors barefoot is feasible? And I don’t just mean in the backyard. Next time you are able to take a wilderness walk, I challenge you to take your hiking boots off for part of it. Plan to go very slowly. Allow yourself to get dirt and mud on and between your toes. Be gentle stepping though leaves where you can’t see what’s underneath. And for your first try, barefoot somewhere where the terrain isn’t too rocky.
You’re one step closer to forging a stronger connection with the natural world! I know from experience that these visceral experiences can reawaken something enticingly primal which can lead to other observations that take you inward. Pay close attention to what the earth tells you through your feet. When the earth talks to us, we want to be ready to listen. Brave soles/Brave souls?
