A question to barefooters

Why?

 

Shoes are too expensive.

 

Feels better, more healthy & natural. Shoes are an insult to human evolution.

 

Why not?

 

First of all it's pleasant to feel the ground underfoot, from rough to smooth, from hard pavement to soft grass, from cold to warm, it's just so much more varied than anyone wearing shoes ever knows.

It's also a respectful way of walking on Mother Earth, making one more aware of one's surroundings.

And it's healthy -didn't start for that reason but I used to be coughing and sniffling from early fall until late spring, for many years, couldn't get rid of it. In the fourteen years I've been barefoot I've called in sick once (for two days) and even a minor cough is rare. It's also said to be better for your joints and posture but my personal experience when it comes to that is less pronounced, I had no knee/back/joint trouble when I started, don't have any now -no idea if I would have if I'd kept wearing shoes. Didn't wear high heels, and didn't do any more strenuous activities like running either.

 

I can back up the healing aspect of barefoot walking - dealing with a bad ankle makes one not picky when the only other option would be to not walk at all.

 

Why not?

Why should people have to conform to what is today considered the "norm"? Shoes were not invented millions of years ago, yet we still managed. Why should I have to force my feet in to a case of leather, strap them up so they get blisters, change shape over time, smell and hurt?

Why wear earrings? Or socks? O clothes?


If I walk to the shop with no shoes on, who am I going to hurt?

 

It's pretty addictive. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't tried barefoot life, but it's quite enjoyable and liberating. The first time I went out, it was just to a coffee shop. I figured I'd get busted and that would be the end of it. No problem! I enjoyed the sensation, so I slowly started going more and more places barefoot. I discovered the more I went barefoot, the more I wanted to continue. Weather permitting, I run all my errands without shoes.

 

because once you get accustomed to it , each time that for some reason or another you go shod it feels like you're missing something pleasant. then because i have a long history of discomfort and health issues related to shoes - not just bad shoes - and because time ago a physician advised me to go barefoot on uneven surfaces to cure my woes. it worked. because i always wanted to go bf but i never dared because of social pressure, and this is really a stupid thing and means having been voluntarily enslaved. because it feels good and hippie also means : «if it feels good, then do it».

 

In many cases, shoes are simply not needed. I don't wear them when there is nothing to protect my feet from. Do you wear a raincoat when it isn't raining?

 

its a very freeing experince

 

right on gypsy!!! The man is justrin 2 bring us down!!!!

 

Because we can?

 

It is great fun to feel the ground underfoot and it is healthy. Your feet adapt quickly and you start walking more smoothly which is better for the entire body especially if you sit a lot in your job. I'm looking forward to strolling barefoot through the city again as soon as spring returns and I plan to do it on a much more regular basis this year.

 

Going barefoot is a just a great natural high! One of the few things in life that are totally upside!

 

I guess I can understand where you're coming from.

But to me blackfoot is just nasty. It would bother me if I was say, trying to eat at a restaurant and I had to look at someones calloused dirtfoot.

 

I would actually feel the opposite.

 

Then don't go to any restaurants in summer, because half the population wears flipflops and depending on how dry and dusty the streets are, feet can easily get quite dirty in those! Looking from up above, you see just as much of the foot as when it's totally bare, there's only that tiny, narrow strap.

Also in a restaurant, everyone is sitting at tables with their feet under the table, isn't it? I've done some looking around after people mentioned this on barefoot forums, and unless you're specifically looking down under the tables checking people's feet, they're not exactly obvious, except for the few steps while someone walks past your table to sit down at their own. Only if there's a buffet and people are walking back and forth all the time you see people's feet frequently, but unless it's really crowded you could likely find a place where the main walkway isn't in your line of sight. I'd personally ask for a table that isn't right next to a busy buffet anyhow; while I have no problems with how people dress, I do like peace and quiet and calm conversation rather than constant 'traffic'.

 

because little girls smile at you and yell «HIPPIE !!!!»

 

Why? Because going barefoot is clinically proven to be better for your feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back. (ask the Harvard sport scientists).
It's more fun, too.