How many of you feel totally at ease....

For me it was only a matter of days. Only at the very, very start I was a bit unsure because I had literally NEVER noticed anyone on the street barefoot (and I was almost 29 years old ). I'd read and found out about people going barefoot everywhere online and well, you know the internet, there's lots of real info and true experiences but also a lot of crap and people who aren't doing what they post about at all. Nor was there even a single Dutch person active on the newsgroup I had read, so I had no idea what the reaction of people here would be. However, when I tried it, it felt so right, so natural, those concerns just melted away in no time flat.

I must add that while going barefoot is *extremely* rare (I've only seen a couple dozen others in all those years, even now I'm watching for it) I very quickly discovered the Netherlands has NO 'no shoes, no service' signs, there's no myth that it is somehow illegal or unhealthy to go barefoot, and people aren't afraid to get sued over every scratch or scrape happening on their premises either.

Also, and more importantly, I'd had alternative appearance before, had at times dyed my hair a quite bright red, had worn bells in my hair, etc, so people staring, pointing or commenting was nothing new. I got used to not caring what people said not while barefooting, but many years earlier in school when I was picked on and bullied quite a bit. That did take me many years, the picking and bullying had started early in grade school and I still remember the exact moment and place when I successfully decided that kind of stuff was no longer going to affect me -I was 15 years old by then. Barefooting didn't come into it -I was barefoot at home, in the back yard, and PE was barefoot, but that was normal for kids back then and not one of the things they teased me about- but it has worked in any later situations when people tried to pick on me, for whatever reason.

 

I don't care what others think. I enjoy going barefoot. I don't get rude coments but then I am a big guy. If an establishment doesn't want me there I leave and amsure not to spend or recomend their service to others. I do keep a pair of flip flops in the car just in case I feel I need them. I do not let others decide for me when shoes should be warn. I just gon't care what others think. Barefoot is best and barefoot is freedom. Enjoy yourself and be free.

 

I certainly have no problem with going barefoot. In winter I get the occassional comment about the cold, but bare feet are not uncommon here. I have taken to not wearing a shirt as that is more comfortable wth my crutches but I do sometimes feel a bit self-conscious when both barefoot and bare chested. Even when I am both shoe and shirtless, the only comments I normally get are about the cast on my left leg.

Last week at the supermarket at night it was cold and frosty outside. Everyone else was wearing boots and jackets, and am there am I wearing jeans and nothing else. The girl at the check-out helped carry my stuff out to my car (crutches are a bit of a nuisance for that) and she was asking about my cast, and how long I would be on crutches. No mention at all about bare feet or bare chest at all.

 

How long will you be on them? I notice your user name and that you've been here over 2 years. Just curious.

 

I love being barefoot. I take my sandals or flip flops off everywhere I go. I especially love sand and grass. My toes love the freedom of wiggling when they want to. I have had people point in a restaurant, when I have taken my shoes off and prop my feet on top of the shoes. I make sure my toes are wiggling so they are distracted. who cares what anyone thinks about naked feet. I was barefooted during the 70's and had a lot of cuts, bruises and once a nail. I am more careful now, but still love barefooting.

 

An ongoing foot injury which so far, after 3 years may finally be close to being sorted. Cast off (again) in a couple of weeks, and possible surgery later. Hoping by the end of the year I will finally be able to use both (bare) feet again without crutches.

 

I am the utmost comfortable in barefoot, the feeling of the dirt between my toes, cushiony grass, warm concrete, it's amazing..

For the first.. 13 years of my life my pa didn't own a pair of shoes, and he was totally at ease with it.
So I did it one day, and was totally at ease with it aswell, never had a problem with it.. its just so natural.