We as “civilized” people have grown too far from our roots in nature.
Our happiness is quite correlated to our being in touch with the natural,the primal, the animalistic.
Living in a city can easily get you down.
It may sound like total hokum, total malarkey, but i believe there is energy we are meant to feel, to absorb, to interact with, that we do not get when in 100% man made environments.
In essence we need “to get back to our roots”.
Call me crazy, but open your mind and give it a shot, tell me this doesn’t work.
Kick off your socks and shoes, and put your feet on real ground. Natural god made ground.
Being barefoot on natural substance has a grounding affect be it grass,dirt,sand, whatever.
The act itself centers you, and for a short moment (as hippie as this sounds) you are one with the Earth.
As you feel the damp moss (or sand) between your toes for a short while you forget the existence of the modern world.
No one thinks of the spiritual affect (aside from the physical benefits) that being barefoot can provide.
Go for a short walk in the woods sans shoes. You’d be surprised how out of touch and soft you’ve become.
It’s a depressing part of the concrete jungle that is a city: you can go months without feet touching something as natural as grass. Even five minutes on a small patch is better than nothing.
Being barefoot on grass instantly ups my mood.
However don’t limit yourself to being barefoot in warm weather. From time to time go barefoot in winter conditions (just not for a long period of time). It is quite childish, fun, and silly to do, yet even this year I ran about 100 yards down and back barefoot in the snow, finishing off by making snow angels and doing rolls in the snow going far past my buddies original dare for me to do the run portion barefoot.
This essay is related in some manner to my recent one on the lifting of weights outdoors.
Winter is in the air, and I’m feeling a call of the wild. Awhoo!
-J