Where did you go barefoot today?

Group of youths at the bus stop asked me whether I was embarrassed to be barefoot (after the usual 'where's your trainers ?'/'don't wear any' routine) ? I turned the question on them and asked where they embarrassed, which kind of flummoxed them for a bit. One relied he wasn't embarrassed because he was wearing trainers. I replied that I wasn't embarrassed because I was barefoot - we reached a happy compromise and they moved along quietly.

Apart from that odd question, a lovely afternoon in Nottingham, with a very brisk gale blowing all sorts of debris into my path ! Very dirty feet when I got home.

 

i haven't left my house today, so i've been barefoot all day

but i live in minnesota, so i'm pretty sure i'll be wearing boots when i leave hehe. eff that nonsense.... i think it's like 9 degrees out right now...

 

Having lunch barefoot at Chipotle as I type this.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

 

A good day today. Supermarket, bank and post office shoeless, shirtless, and with a very dirty sole on my good foot. It rained between the bank and post office, which was awesome feeling the rain on my bare chest, and then seeing a single bare footprint as I hobbled up the steps and inside the post office.

 

Right on!

 

To the doctors today for a 6 month prescription review - she didn't mention it at all, so I just added it was good therapy walking around barefoot. She said if it worked for me, carry on ! Nice one

 

Went barefoot on my drive. I live on a hill and with the ice storm last night over leftover snow....barefoot is the only traction. 4 wheel drive didn't really wanna climb it without a running start. The mailman will find the prints interesting I guess.

 

This Wednesday marks two events: the middle of the barefoot week in frosty conditions and Groundhog Day... which is, as we know, not only the title of a nice comedy movie starring Bill Murray, but also a real-existing holiday in the United States, celebrated as depicted in the movie in the little town of Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania. The groundhog is named Phil, just as in the movie, and according to common beliefs, winter will stay longer, if Phil sees a shadow (which is told to the gathered audience by an interpreter who understands groundhoggish language).
This year, however, Phil has not seen a shadow, which means that there will be an early Spring. Good news for barefooters!

In case you wish to know more about Groundhog Day and wish to see Phil's prediction in a video on the web, just visit the official homepage of the Groundhog Foundation of Punxsatawney, PA.

As far as my barefooting is concerned, this week has started with frosty conditions in the morning, early temperatures as low as about -5°C (23F) and dry weather. On Monday, the temperatures never climbed above frost level, so that I was able to spot a barefoot track preserved in the rime which I had left on the same day in the morning.

I had made use of bag balm quite generously in the morning, so that my feet were shielded well enough from the frosty nibbles at my toes. And even in the evening, when temperatures had risen a little towards frost level, my feet did not feel too cold, even when waiting at the bus stop.

Tuesday was yet another frosty morning, which I braved with bag balm, enabling me to present shiny, happy feet to the world at large as well as to the colleagues in the office...



...however, like the sword of Damocles, the bane of happy bare feet was hovering over them, as I had to slip into my office shoes at some point.

Wednesday started with temperatures only slightly below frost level, but with a special danger to traffic, since it had rained on frozen ground overnight, leaving a layer of ice on the sidewalks. Since I had to get out for work early, most of the sidewalks had not been treated with salt. Contrary to the typical expected even surface, the ice was feeling like a layer of small grit spread all over the sidewalk, providing surprisingly good grip for bare soles. I never slipped walking on that special winter surface.



Of course, I used bag balm as the typical shield against the cold, which proved just perfect to prevent frost damage to bare toes. At the office, I once again showed shiny, happy bare feet to the world, before slipping them - reluctantly - into the office shoes depicted above.

For the rest of the week, I might be able to omit the bag balm, since temperatures are forecast to rise, with another mild spell with temperatures above 10°C (50F) arriving by the weekend. It seems, that Phil's prediction of an early Spring comes true for my bare feet.
Let's hope that it also comes true for all those people living in the US, currently having those blizzards the news tell us about. And to the people of Queensland: Run and hide! That cyclone is huge!

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

barefoot in the snow! it feels weird

 

Feb. 05, 2011 - Barefoot Saturday shopping in mild air

Woops - and suddenly it's 11°C (52F) outside... wasn't it just three days ago, when I was walking barefoot on ice?

But since the weather forecasts has been telling me so, I was not too surprised by the mild spell, which already began on Friday evening, when temperatures had been on the rise the whole day through and had arrived at the 10°C mark by the time my office day was over.

So, I went barefoot to mid-town, to do my usual weekend shopping. On public transport, reactions were almost non-existent. After exiting the tram at the underground central station stop, I went into the mall, to the ATM, the tobacconist and then into my usual supermarket. "The Look"® happened only occasionally, and I did my shopping unhassled.

After paying for my grocery and yummy things at the checkout, I pushed my cart to one of the little tables, where customers can pack their bags. I had my MP3 player turned off, and the earphones out while paying and when packing my shopping bags, when I heard a small girl, about 3 years old, call out "Daddy, look there..." and after a few seconds again, a bit more urgently "Daddy, look THERE...", then heard a male voice "Yeah, dear, I'm looking... I'm looking..." It took him a few seconds to realize that she was indicating my bare feet, to which he then replied "Oh, yeah, that man's not wearing shoes... so what?"
A woman standing next to me then said shyly "And such nicely painted toe nails, too..." to which I replied, grinning, "well, if people stare at my bare feet, I want to give them something to look at" which made her smile, still quite shyly. Since she was talking with a slight stutter, I guess that was the source of her shyness.
The father then said to his spouse "Cool, huh? He's walking barefoot" and then added, turning to me "You know, the little one just never saw someone walk around barefoot before..." which astounded me, and so I asked "not even in summer?" He then shrugged, and the little family went off.

The woman was still standing next to me, then asking "And why is it that you walk barefoot?" to which I gave the usual reply that I feel better walking barefoot, at which she nodded and said "oh, right, your feet aren't crmaped up in shoes, you don't get corns...". It seems like she knew about the pleasure of walking barefoot. I then told her that it's also a health issue, since it's better for my joints, which she also confirmed, saying that walking barefoot on natural surfaces like a beach is indeed a healthy thing to do.
Smiling at me a final time she then went to leave, I wished her a nice weekend, and off she went, as well. It seems like she was at least a closet barefooter, knowing about the pleasure and wellness aspect of it. Nice reactions, to be sure. It seems that the mild temperatures also improved the moods of people in general, making some of them react to the "weirdness" of a barefoot person with positive and supportive responses..
Here's to barefoot Spring knocking at the door.

Feb. 06, 2011 - The barefoot Sunday hour of power in the park...
...discovering some signs of divine femininity.

Well, that second part of the headline sounds cryptic, doesn't it? I will solve that little mystery towards the end of this entry, with pictures, too.

With the mild temperatures continuing, the Sunday barefoot walk in the park was once again obligatory and something to look forward to. Since there had only been an occasional drizzle now and then over the last few days, there were no puddles or extreme wetness, but the surfaces in the park felt soft, moist and cool underfoot.
With temperatures being definitely mild enough, I decided to don a more Spring-like outfit:



To celebrate the mild weather, I walked mostly over the lawn areas, feeling the grass and soil underfoot, especially cherishing the softness of Mother Earth's skin, as it molded itself to my naked soles. Each of the different surfaces sent ripples of positive energy into my body, which intensified when I went to the trio of trees which I have encountered weeks ago as the botanic embodiment of the threefold Goddess. Standing on the soil in the center of that triangle of trees, I did my breathing meditation, exchanging the past week's emotional burdens and negative thoughts with new and fresh positive energy drawn from the Earth through my bare soles and upwards into my body with every breath I took.

After finishing that recharging of my emotional batteries, I walked slowly to the group of park benches, sat down on one, watching the park life going on, including a little motley pack of dogs playing, while their respective owners were watching from afar. Clearly, the dogs had fun and at one point decided to bring some of that fun to me, too, as the pack ran over to the bench I was sitting on, most of the dogs passing me by and carrying on their spiel behind the bench. All but one, a light brown mongrel with mischief on his mind, who thought that I should play with them, too. He jumped and placed his forepaws on my lap, leaving earth-colored paw prints on my grey pants, jumped off, turned around and did that once again. I laughed at his antics, and he swiftly went off with the rest of the dogs, as they ran on, jumping, yapping and pouncing each other.
It seemed that the pre-Spring mild air had raised their spirits, too.

All the different textures and surfaces left my soles again nicely Earth-colored:



Now, to solve that cryptic line mystery mentioned in the beginning, I found symbols of femininity at that trio of trees, that felt like forming a spiritual hotspot in the middle between them and where I drew my positive energy for the coming week from.

At the roots of all three trees - the young one, symbolizing the Maiden Goddess, the older one, standing for the Mother Goddess and the eldest one, representing the Crone - there are apertures looking like entrances to hidden cave realms within the trees, be they miniature residences for faerie folk or model versions of Kelutral, the Pandoran Hometree of the Na'vi clan of Omaticaya, as featured in James Cameron's Avatar.
In two cases - the Mother Goddess tree as well as the Crone tree - these apertures also resemble a vulva.





In case of the Maiden Goddess tree, that resemblance is a bit weaker, but since Freudian psychologists might happily concur, that these are vaginal symbols, old Siegmund himself might have said "Sometimes, a crack in a tree is just a crack in a tree".

Nevertheless, finding those apertures in that special group of trees once more strengthens my faith in that place being of special spiritual meaning. I hope, that on warmer days, I will be able to connect to that place some more by sitting down there and meditating.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Uh.... I went for a walk, and then got kicked out of walmart for being "unsanitary" (I know, I know.. I shouldn't even be in walmart lol)

 

I walked around my house barefoot and stepped outside in the snow barefoot to get my dog untangled. It was a less than pleasant experience.

 

Yeah man, I don't care what they say; if it's less than 50 degrees out, my ass is wearing shoes outside.

 

Then if your ass is wearing the shoes, then your feet are covered by ???
I WANT PICS!!!!!!!!

 

lol jerk

 

I hate doing these half-assed "not really barefoot" posts, but it's the closest I'm going to get this time of year.

It was "Wacky Day" today at school, so I wore Vibram Fivefingers. Most of my peers really liked them and expressed interest in owning a pair. I told them that I'd go barefoot all the time if the weather permitted and most people agreed. Pretty cool day.

 

Went to the local "everything for cheap" store. It has been warm lately, but I've gotten used to wearing shoes and now I just put them on automatically. But it was nice to go bf for a little bit today Cheers!

 

I went to Academy (sporting goods) and Michaels (a craft store)

@essenceofweez - I see a lot of young guys, early 20's, wearing vibrams to the gym to work out in

 

I don't really go out barefoot as much as I'd like these days, what with it being cold and me being at uni, though it was nice to just go round college barefoot today. I'd missed that sensation ^^

 

yesterday on sunday i went barefoot the whole day. walked from my grandmas house over to my moms, and i wanted to go barefooting in the mall, but sadly i did not have a ride?