Looking back I now recall that last year, before I even thought of or heard the term barefooter, I had seen a couple of people walking around the SoulFest site at Gunstock barefoot and decided to do it myself. We were camping there for the concerts and I had always enjoyed being barefoot, but never felt you could go barefoot in public. Perhaps it was the fact we were camping made it easier for me to leave the shoes behind and talk a walk around the vendors area barefoot. I ended up bumping into a family from my church and they noticed my lack of shoes and inquired. I'm not sure how I responded, but I was certainly a little embarrassed to be seen without shoes.
Forward a year later and we are back camping at SoulFest. The difference this year is I now boldly walk around the entire campground and SoulFest area barefoot and proud of it. What a change, from a dream that I never thought was possible to actually walking everywhere without my shoes. I have set a new personal record of 5 consecutive days being barefoot on this trip.
Before leaving we stopped by a Credit Union and 5 stores. While at the camp we stopped at the camp store for supplies twice and on the ways back we stopped at another small store and for some chinese food. No issues at all. But that is not to say the five days was without its difficulties.
Over the past month I have been really picked up the amount of time and distance I've spent barefoot. The terrain in Missouri just a few weeks ago was especially rough on my feet. So by Thursday my feet were feeling a bit sore and I started to miss my shoes. I would watch people walk down the dirt walkway that had enough rocks mixed in that a barefooter had to watch their step. Yet these people would walk down the path, chatting with their friends and not giving a second thought where they placed their foot. Occasionally you would see another person carrying their shoes walking barefoot, but they would be watching where they stepped as their friends chatted with them.
I thought of how soft and comfortable my shoe would feel and how I missed the safety they provided. How I could walk without a care down rough, rock covered paths. I thought about how much faster I could walk with shoes over those paths. Shoes are tools after all and it wouldn't be wrong to wear them. But I decided to resist the temptation and continue working on getting my feet tougher. They were in no danger of being damaged by a little discomfort. So I didn't give in to the temptation and stayed barefoot.
The next day my feet felt better and I was glad I resisted the siren's call. The following day it rained and I would have missed the change in the texture of the vendor area. Before it was hard and unyielding trampled grass. After the rain, it became soft, almost like a dry sponge does after it soaks up water. Then there was the little patches of mud. I can't wait till next year to see how much better my feet have grown accustomed to being barefoot on these same paths.
Forward a year later and we are back camping at SoulFest. The difference this year is I now boldly walk around the entire campground and SoulFest area barefoot and proud of it. What a change, from a dream that I never thought was possible to actually walking everywhere without my shoes. I have set a new personal record of 5 consecutive days being barefoot on this trip.
Before leaving we stopped by a Credit Union and 5 stores. While at the camp we stopped at the camp store for supplies twice and on the ways back we stopped at another small store and for some chinese food. No issues at all. But that is not to say the five days was without its difficulties.
Over the past month I have been really picked up the amount of time and distance I've spent barefoot. The terrain in Missouri just a few weeks ago was especially rough on my feet. So by Thursday my feet were feeling a bit sore and I started to miss my shoes. I would watch people walk down the dirt walkway that had enough rocks mixed in that a barefooter had to watch their step. Yet these people would walk down the path, chatting with their friends and not giving a second thought where they placed their foot. Occasionally you would see another person carrying their shoes walking barefoot, but they would be watching where they stepped as their friends chatted with them.
I thought of how soft and comfortable my shoe would feel and how I missed the safety they provided. How I could walk without a care down rough, rock covered paths. I thought about how much faster I could walk with shoes over those paths. Shoes are tools after all and it wouldn't be wrong to wear them. But I decided to resist the temptation and continue working on getting my feet tougher. They were in no danger of being damaged by a little discomfort. So I didn't give in to the temptation and stayed barefoot.
The next day my feet felt better and I was glad I resisted the siren's call. The following day it rained and I would have missed the change in the texture of the vendor area. Before it was hard and unyielding trampled grass. After the rain, it became soft, almost like a dry sponge does after it soaks up water. Then there was the little patches of mud. I can't wait till next year to see how much better my feet have grown accustomed to being barefoot on these same paths.
