Barefoot in the hippie days

[barefoot_boy]

My stepmother shows me old pictures of her and she went barefoot everywhere
in the 60's and 70's.I do now,but what she tells me is EVERYBODY used to go barefoot before.I think itd be cool if it were like that now.If everyone where like me.It seems even ten years ago shoes weren't such an issue as now.I know this
isn't a 'political topic' but why is society so uptight now?Did all the hippies really
go barefoot so much?It justseems a barefoot society is a more accepting society.

[~Sam~]

Sweetheart, I've been going barefoot for more than 40 years (except when I'm doing chores out in the barn). Don't intend to be any other way anytime soon.

[homebudz]

Back in th' day I never wore shoes,or sneakers.I used to walk everywhere barefoot,even running down gravel roads.

[hippietoad]

Being and island gurl I go barefoot anyways. Recently a local restaurant burnt down. It had been here for ages. Anyways, they were the home of the "Barefoot Waitresses". There were photos hanging on the walls of all the waitresses barefoot as they could be. Wish things were still like that.

[m6m]

The barefoot were a minority even amongst the hippies of the '60s and '70s. But a healthy minority whose barefoot spirit permeated the entire hippie culture and could touched even the mainstream in a subtle natural way.

[Dakota's Mom]

My feet are a lot more tender than they used to be. I can't run on gravel any more. In the 60's and 70's the only time I ever wore shoes was when I was going some place that required them or in the winter. I haven't owned a pair of shoes now for at least 15 years. When it gets cold I put heavy socks on. When the snow is on the streets and sidewalks I wear boots. As soon as everything is plowed, it's back to the sandles. I hate shoes.

Kathi

[GoodKarma]

I stayed in my barefeet during the 70's if the weather permitted. Went to my first concert barefooted, use to go downtown shopping barefooted and got a few cuts in between. I still have callouses on my feet that I've never gotten rid of. Seemed like so much freedom feeling the earth under your feet...

[Sus]

Yep, I did a lot of barefooting back in the day too. But like Dakotasmom, my feet are a lot more tender these days, plus I have plantar fascitis (an inflammation of the plantar fascia on the bottoms of the feet) that can make going barefoot quite painful. So, I do the Birkenstock thing most of the time...I vastly prefer sandals over full shoes, and wear my Birks almost all of the time, year round, with socks in the winter (I do wear boots or full shoes when it is snowy!)

[mosaicthreads]

well, I'm barefoot right now! I've spent a good part of my life barefoot and pregnant! :eek:

Like, many of you, I find my feet are more sensitive now then they were when I was younger, but my feet get closterphobic in shoes. I do wear boots in the winter and most of the time in the barn, but the rest of the time it is sandals or barefeet.

From a reflexology point of view, it is healthier to go barefoot, as the pressure points on the feet are massaged regularly and naturally and this keeps all the organs of the body healthier!

As a side note, both my daughter and daughter in law were both barefoot brides!

[Duncan]

I grew up in an eastern seaboard inner city. Walking barefoot was equated with a sign of mental illness.
Of course when we left the inner city for the mountains, that was another story.
I, however, have always been sensitive to allergens and in the summers would always have some form of footwear on (even if it were thongs).
To get back to your question, though, I say that we wear footwear as a combination of (a) a statement and (b) the general protection that is needed. Besides the overall bacteria and slime that is ever present on the earth's surface, we also run the risk of stepping on some heavy and sharp objects. This is especially dangerous when you think about how much body weight is pumped down on those feet!

[barefoot_boy]

I'll go barefoot around my nieghbourhood,but I wish I wasn't so concerned
of what people thought beceause Id love to go downtown without
shoes,a few of my friends do.Downtown,I have taken off my shoes a few times and carried them.
That's the thing,my sisters friend, very fashionable,etc,I remember she'd go
barefoot to the store or something wearing a summer 'fashionable' pant
suit,and this was like the late 1980's.Even then such a thing wasn't considered 'insane' like it is now.She definately wasn't a hippie,more 'party girl'.
I guess society really has headed more and more right wing conservative..

[FunkyPhreshMama]

i don't wear shoes that cover my feet ever. if i am not barefoot i wear my lil mexican sandal things, wore em all winter, even in the snow a few days. i used to wear shoes to shows but after i went to see Phil Lesh barefoot a few years ago i quit, maybe some sandals for walking around but nothing is better to me than to dance around in the grass or mud barefoot.......................................... .................

[barefoot_boy]

That's what I wanna do.I wanna start wearing barefoot sandals for
when I go downtown or shopping.When you wanna be barefoot but
you're not supposed to be 'seen' that way. Around my nieghbourhood
I don't care if I ever wearshoes though.

[livlvlife]

The thrill of aging.....my feet don't like going barefoot as much now....nerves in my feet have gone a bit crazy and after one surgery, decided I won't have any more cutting on my body to remove the offending things unless I can't walk. So I have to wear sandals or tennies with support. I miss my mexican sandals with the loop for the big toe to keep them on....wear them for short walking distances now. If i put extra pads in my moccasins I can wear them longer.
:p

I used to have one of those dress up, professional jobs and wore heels (well kinda....I am 6 feet tall, so they weren't 5" high)...I don't even try walking in them now!!!

In '70 we were in New Orleans french quarter and were not allowed to go into a restaurant cause we didn't have shoes so we did a picnic in the park and just hung out with all the wonderful other barefooters!!

so all of you that are shoeless and proud..I salute you!!!!:D

[grendel 44]

I never wore shoes unless absolutly necessary until lately. Still going barefoot after all these years most of the time. Now I am old and have diabetes and almost lost a toe last year because I was (of course) barefoot in the back yard and got a cut. Now I am a bit more careful, being toeless or footless is probably worse than being shoeless. My old faithful birkenstocks protect enough, and those japanese sandals with all the bumps inside are pretty good too. Give me a good patch of grass (any kind, wink wink) though, and off come the shoes.

"What a drag it is getting old"

[angelgodiva]

I spent most of my youth sans shoes, and never cared for fashion...my shoes now are a horror to my mother. I own exactly four pair, as my feet are also much more sensitive the last decade or so; one pair of sneakers, one pair of clunky hiking boots, one pair of thongs, and one pair of knee high moccasins, which are my favorite pair.

[candy]

i walk barefeet most of the time. exept when I'm at school...
I've been brought up like that man,my mom never showed us otherwise so...
some people find it funny,some stupid and some say it's for crazy people but NO man!we just like to feel!!!
that's it man!
it's all 'bout feeling FREE man!FEEL FREE!

peace!

[deezee]

My stepmother shows me old pictures of her and she went barefoot everywhere
in the 60's and 70's.I do now,but what she tells me is EVERYBODY used to go barefoot before.I think itd be cool if it were like that now.If everyone where like me.It seems even ten years ago shoes weren't such an issue as now.I know this
isn't a 'political topic' but why is society so uptight now?Did all the hippies really
go barefoot so much?It justseems a barefoot society is a more accepting society.

not to digress, but somehow it's fitting that as i write this i am watching a PBS special with peter paul and mary . richie havens is singing "the great mandala"...wow!

i grew up in nyc and went barefoot everywhere. considering that there were no pooper scoopers or "picking up after your dog" laws at the time, i guess i would have been considered brave or crazy... but every kid in the village was barefoot once the weather was remotely springlike. god i miss those days.

deezee

[LotusIndia]

I use to go barefoot often, back in the day. Still like to, but must admit, over the years going barefoot nearly wrecked my feet. I developed stubborn callouses which eventually hurt and took years and years to get rid of. Tho I use to walk alot on sidewalks and cement. I suppose it depends on where you walk, like in parks or on grass. But I did it all. :) These days, I wear open sandals or clogs, etc. Shoes aren't a bad thing. They protect your feet. If walking in the woods, they help keep ya from stepping on a thorn or drawing blood, and on sidewalks that's all ready been explained. They have their purpose and place. But I prefer to walk barefoot on grass whenever I can, and I never wear shoes in the house! I think I own two pairs of shoes. When I see all the fuss on tv over women wanting countless pairs of shoes, tho I dont judge cuz it could be fun, but I have more important things to spend my money on.

Namaste,
Lotus

[lunar forest]

I agree, shoes aren't that bad, but I love free feet! When I have to wear shoes I wear ones that are easy to take off (like birks and clogs) and I take advantage of every opportunety I get! I like to have access to my feet at all times! ;)

[LotusIndia]

I agree, shoes aren't that bad, but I love free feet! When I have to wear shoes I wear ones that are easy to take off (like birks and clogs) and I take advantage of every opportunety I get! I like to have access to my feet at all times! ;)

Yes, me too. I've got a thing for wanting to feel the air around my feet at all times. lol I dont know what that is, but as long as I feel that way, I'm gonna go for it.

Tho when hiking or somethig, its actually VERY important to wear good shoes, for climbing, for protection, etc. Maybe that is the difference. Wearing shoes in every day life vs. wearing shoes when hiking, camping, etc., possibly is different.

Namaste,
Lotus

[shaggie]

It seemed like there were more people in the 60s and 70s in the U.S. that went barefoot out in public than today. It's rare to see young people today going barefoot. I noticed that most people at the beach wear shoes. I even see some people swimming with shoes on occasionally. Even 10 years ago, most would go barefoot at the beach. I'm not sure what has happened. Maybe people are afraid of picking up viruses like aids or anthrax.

I hike barefoot all the time now. I've never gone back to shoes. It's extremely comfortable once you are used to it and the soles thicken up. Bare feet are great for climbing up trees and banks of rivers. It makes one feel very close to the Earth and teaches one respect for the Earth. Besides, all the Earth's creatures go barefoot. :)

http://home.flash.net/~lauras34/ft/wt15.jpg

[Alison]

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare
feet and the wind longs to play with your hair.
Kahlil Gibran.

Hi all, newbie here from CT.
I remember the good ole going barefoot everywhere days. I never wore shoes and was proud of my feet that could walk on burning glass if need be. lol
I remember once when I wish I had worn some shoes though, when a few of us went to a concert in New Hampshire and I found out after they picked me up that we were hitch hiking there,, they were just using the parents car to pick me up.

It wasn't bad till the last day of the outdoor weekend concert when we woke up and it was raining. We didnt have a tent , just sopping wet sleeping bags, that we had to lug, hitch hiking home across a few states. We ended up in Boston in some restaurant getting lunch before heading on, and I remember being cold and wet and hiding my feet as best I could so I wouldnt be thrown out of the place for having no shoes. I must have looked like a wet rat. LOL

Now if I walk on bumpy pavement barefoot my feet are so sensitive! I am going to start going barefoot alot more often because I belive it's true that you are cut off from direct contact with earth, spirtitually wearing shoes. Being barefoot grounds you, and keeps you clearer than you normally would be of all the astral guk that there seems to be an abundance of in this crazy world. So, Off with those shoes more often!

I'll only wear sandals in the summer, mostly tevas.
In the winter I put on a pair of uggs and thats where they stay all winter! Only kidding , but it's close to the truth. They keep my feet warm and dry and snug while not pressing in on them, hurting my ingrown toenail that developed from wearing unnaturally shapes shoes.
Those uggs feel like heaven when I put them on first thing on a cold morning. Like boot slippers. The warmth and soft comfort are addicting. and I highly recommend then to anyone who lives in a cold climate.

[shaggie]

Most Americans are in shoes from birth till death. There's a type of shoe for just about everything now. I'm surprised no company has come out with a shoe for sleeping in. :)

I noticed the past few years that they put the word 'barefoot' on shoes and socks. As if you need to buy the shoes and socks to get the comfort of bare feet.

One company even says 'go barefoot' while they show everyone in socks. I think they mean that people should buy their 'barefoot' brand of socks.

[the_sweet]

my parents never wore shoes when I was little, due to general changing of times though they both do now. We all used to traipse through Beckenham bare footed. It's summer now so I'm avoiding wearing shoes where possible, bare feet all the way

[Maggie Sugar]

I am glad to hear other people got more tenderfooted as they got older. I thought it was just me. :)

My Birkies do me fine most of the time. I can't get my little one (Sage is four.) to wear shoes at all, though. When she was a baby we used to call her "IronFoot" because she would never wear shoes and nothing bothered her. I got her some little boots that look like alligators for when she is running around our land, so the poison ivy and the thistles don't get her. She wears those if we go out.

[mosaicthreads]

I am glad to hear other people got more tenderfooted as they got older. I thought it was just me. :)
I too have become more tenderfooted with age....or maybe just from conforming to shoes so often over the years. Running across the gravel drive after a dog or small child just kills me now. All my children would gleefully scamper over gravel barefooted when they were young, but as they got older their feet have become more sensitive. :(

[Dakota's Mom]

Most Americans are in shoes from birth till death. There's a type of shoe for just about everything now. I'm surprised no company has come out with a shoe for sleeping in. :)


This is so true. When we first adopted Dakota all we ever heard was "when are you gonna buy that baby some shoes." He was 5 months old, what did he need shoes for? He had socks to keep his feet warm. That's all he needed. He started walking in the summer and we got it even heavier. "He's walking now, where are his shoes?" In the fall when it started to get cold we bought him shoes. He was walking outside in cold weather, he needed to keep his feet warm. We finally stopped hearing about shoes. Now all we hear is "When are you going to get that boy a haircut?" Our answer for that one is usually when he asks for one.

Kathi

[MoonjavaSeed]

Back in th' day I never wore shoes,or sneakers.I used to walk everywhere barefoot,even running down gravel roads.
man i grew up on a gravel road and i did the same thing!!! people thought i was crazy but what good are shoes when you've got two perfectly good feet and some good ground that needs to be treaded on?

[mosaicthreads]

We finally stopped hearing about shoes. Now all we hear is "When are you going to get that boy a haircut?" Our answer for that one is usually when he asks for one.
Kathi
That's a great answer! When he asks for one!

[JamminJim]

I always go barefoot unless i go to the beach and the sand is extremely hot then i wear sandals which is the most amount of shoe i wear. I hate it at school they make u wear shoes i dont see why shoes are nessecary but they kinda strict about it i wish i could just go barefoot everywhere and have no body bother me about it

[Old Mountain Lady]

Sweetheart, I've been going barefoot for more than 40 years (except when I'm doing chores out in the barn). Don't intend to be any other way anytime soon.How does one start a new thread? Oh well. I am like a wild horse, nobody broke my spirit. I was always allowed to be me. I find this hard in todays society. I am not one to kiss butt or pretend to be anything that I am not. I got out of school many years ago yet I still find the people pointing fingers and calling me off the wall.
To be a free spirit is hard and the judging of my chatacter is getting hard for me to take anymore. I am off the wall they say. Well I guess so. How do we old hippies at heart souls live in a world of greed, self centered people? People who are fake? I am not fake and am judged quite harshly by this.
Any tips for an Old Mountain Lady?

[shameless_heifer]

I'm barefootin' it right now..my daddy use to comment on my barefootness all the time.. he must have been a tenderfoot'..I on the other hand.. am shoeless till this day..not only am I a barefoot contessa.. I walk on my tippie toes if I'm in a hurry.. the only thing I see as a barefooting drawback.. is the cracks in you heals..I have to use furring file to sloth off the ridges.. to be barefoot is grounding and keeps you centerd..your pull up energy from Mother Earth through your feet..I do wear boots when I need to and flip flops when I have to go to the store..I prolly should wear shoes I suppose.. but my feets just crawl out of them before I realize it..I don't carry a purse..cuz when I did I'd always be leavin' it somewhere and end up whinin' ' mercy mercy I lost my pursey".. I had a leather medecine bag thingy tied on my beltloop I kept my treasures in.. like my crystals and gems and bits of roots and barks.. a buckeye for luck, my pipe and a guitar pick.. I wore daisy mae cut offs and see threw peasent blouses and of course I was braless..I wore no makeup and my hair was long and straight...I'd sometimes wear a cowboy hat n boots..(well I am a texan ya know, it's our native dress ;-))

[shameless_heifer]

Mountain Lady.. fuck 'em.. who cares what they think.. they're negative minded people and unhappy in the world they create for them selves.. they are blind to the beauty that surrounds them, their pettiness vails them from CREATORS love..smile inside yourself and thank the GODDESS your not like them.. Blessed Be sista and welcome

[mosaicthreads]

You know, people often don't know what to do with an honest person. They are so use to everyone putting on masks, and being fake that they don't believe you when you are who you are. They think you are playing....just like they are.

I've always tried to take people at face value....and I've been burned a lot, so I got wise over the years. I don't want to be jaded, so I try to just be me and let others be them. It certianlly isn't always that easy. I find they want to believe I'm someone I'm not....either to idealize me, or catogorize me, or deamonize me. Oh well.....what can a girl do?

Up north here I don't go barefoot outside much.....but as soon as I get home (or sometimes just to the car) off come the shoes! I wear clogs most of the winter so my feet dont' get too claustrophobic.

[Daharma]

I'm barefoot right now, don't know any different. I have been like that all my life and not about to change. We lived in Hawaii for seven years and it's not proper to go into anyones house with your shoes on, so therefore, we alway go barefoot, it's just the right way to live.

[riversong]

funny thread! i like it.
i walked into registration for school to start taking my elementary ed classes to become a teacher - barefoot, pregnant (unmarried!), and in a peasant dress. they refused to let me register for the el. ed. classes!! i could have fought it, i'm sure, but i didn't have time - i just wanted back in school then, so i signed up for a bunch of art classes - now *that* they let me do! guess they figured i wasn't goin to corrupt a bunch of artists, eh?
i remember walking around nyc barefoot and in central park (stoopid!) - other places wasn't so idiotic.
i still hate shoes. it's birks or boots for me. and no shoes when i can.