i never tried the barefoot thing and courage is a bigg issue on that. most people on this thread seeem to be concerned about what others think but for me its more of an internal fear based on past experiences first i went to a tough elememtry school that was particular about dress code i learned at an early age that you don't take your shoes off in public ie in school. i had teahcers who, if you did, would come to your desk and smack the bottoms of you bare feet with a ruler. you got 2 warnings and if you left them off a 3rd time you got smacked. i never got that myself but just the thought put knots in my stomach. I saw 2 other girls that did and commited that i wasn't going to get that so my shoes stayed on. if you went barefoot a 4th time you got sent to the principal and got your butt spanked with a wood paddle. you could say that school was rather harsh and 2nd i was punished harshly with a switch when i was 15 by someone who thought i was a bit too old for a regular butt spanking thats a long story that i won't go into now but my point is I have a fear of going barefoot so for me somewhere deep down in my mind, barefoot = pain. a year ago i wouldn't have dared even considering going barefoot but reading what people are saying here is warming me up to the idea quite a bit i still don't think I ever will on a regular basis but I'm more open to the idea that its not going to cause me severe physical pain if I did courage is a big thing but i think leaving past traumas in the past is a big part of it too at least for people who have had expereinces like mine.
Sorry I can't speak to your trauma issues. How recent were these negative experiences? Age can also be a factor. I was pretty timid when I was younger - now I just don't give a flip what other people think. My only suggestion is to just try going barefoot. I don't mean to be insensitive, but the only way to be barefoot is to actually try it. One suggestion is to go a distance from your home so you can do it anonymously. I really doubt you'll get any resistance from people and you'll start questioning your doubt. Once you get comfortable with being barefoot away from home it will be easier to try it closer to where you live. If it's warm, my shoes are in the closet. I don't even give it a second thought!
ST you asked how recent my experiences were they were a while back mid 1980's/early 90's but that why they call it trauma its something that stays with with you regardless of how much time passes. You said you were timid when you were younger iwas too but you saw my resons for that but now that i'm a bit older childhood fears are easier to handle so its not as much of an issue as before. i do go barefoot at home actually but usually only when nobody is around or only if i'm with people i trust, as for going away from home to try anonymously i'm sorry friend but i'd probly have a panic atack if i tried that. i do appreciate the suggestion though it seems like good advice
I also had to break down some mental barriers years back until gaining enough confidence to feel ok when barefooting in the sub-way, at the cinema, supermarkets etc. Still, today, I feel a little bit inhibited first time going to the supermarket every spring but it helps a lot going a sunny spring day. At first, one's a bit nervous, then one stop worrying. It's litle bit like getting the feet dirty... When they are, then it's not much to do about it, and one can relax and go on just ignoring whatever dirt there is in the streets. A bit gross perhaps but works very well. Often I receive positive comments in the spring, some during the summer when it's really warm and comfortable and a few during the autumn when it's still very good. Even close-minded people open up somewhat if weather is suddenly improves or if some festival or fair is going on. They just can't help it
In a way, sure, it's a good idea. But it also keeps you 'separated' from your environment, and from the people that are really interested and want to ask you in a really positive way about your barefooting.
it's all the same old story. THEY. WILL. BOTHER. US. at this point, the least we can do is teaching ourselves to ignore them and refrain from being our own shoe police. ridiculous as it can be, it is not the first not the only unwritten law we have to cope with. in my opinion bare feet are not popular and despised because they're free->consumerism. as silly as this may sound.
I never really had a problem when I started going barefoot, because I already went through the 'stop caring what other people say/think' when I was bullied in school. Was always picked on in grade school and the first years of high school, until I finally decided I'd had enough and I'd stop even acknowledging them. Now there were several differences with what angelknight describes; it was verbal bullying only, there was no physical violence involved. And it wasn't the people in authority who were doing it, in fact my parents left me quite free in what I liked to pursue, and my school was a liberal one too, encouraging individuality. It was my peers and classmates who liked to pick on those who were different, not the ones in charge. Still I think one thing might help AngelKnight and any others; in all the years I was bullied, my parents and teachers would tell me not to mind what others said, not to respond to them... they told me a thousand times. Yet I couldn't do it until that one day when *I* decided I'd had enough. It had to come from inside, *I* had to be ready for it and *I* had to make that decision, and then it finally worked, while until then I'd tried many times but more in a sense of 'following the good advise'. I'm not sure if I can explain the exact difference, it may seem rather vague written down like this, but in practice it felt much stronger than when others had told me, and it made a world of difference. And I'm not sure how helpful it is because this, too, is advise from some outsider!
Think everyone must fight more or less get a space big enough for living in. Not just existing but enjoying too. Most peoples use templates to judge others. If it's not in the template, it's odd, threatening, attractive or whatever... If one then want to do some 'odd' things in life one will require more space and will have to work harder for that freedom. Think I go through my short mental struggle for 10min's every spring because out of convenience I choose to retire to 'normal' during the winter while others fought this battle off once for all. Every step outside the box is a step promoting freedom for oneself and others!
anything that comes from inside is always stronger than anything an outsider tells you the thing there is when you do that you are trying counteract by personal conviction what other people have tried to convince you of by force, be it physical or verbal that can be done but for most people if not all its a big challege but not an impossible one I think your words will be helpful to many reading this thread
Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it. I think, "Is it even THAT big of a part of my life?" And then when I actually do it, I realize that it is still pretty awesome. It's kind of like marginalizing beautiful scenery. "I can make myself happy by keeping to boring, utilitarian buildings." Maybe so, but why not enhance it? What have I got to lose?
