conuly | A word to the wise:

http://www.barefooters.org/

You know that's already on my Links List, right?

Oh, lookit that!

Begyerpard, then. (I've the skimpiest style right now, and I forget that others don't.)

At the same time, bare feet aren't really designed to put up with heavy impact on man-made surfaces (tile floors, concrete, etc), but who goes jogging in bare feet?

I do. Or would, if I jogged instead of walking and periodically breaking into a run.

Going barefoot is the shiznits!

When my children were small I refused to encase their poor little feet in the cast iron shoes that passed for baby shoes. They went barefoot. I heard that their ankles would be weak and their feet would be wide (so?) and my kids have super healthy feet. I love to go barefoot myself, or wear comfy shoes. I save heels for "dress ups" of very short duration. No corns, no hammer toes, nothing here lol

Just the opposite! Your ankles are *stronger* when your feet develop naturally. And feet in shoes aren't normal, they're confined. It's like foot binding, but not as severe.

I agree with you completely. But 20 years ago, in my In-Laws minds and my mom's mind, I was doing something daring and wrong. No one saw bare baby feet, it was like an obsession to stick booties and shoes and stuff on those poor little feet.

Hmm.... why not split the difference and wear sandals/thongs? Your feet can breathe like they were meant to, and you don't have to worry about stepping on broken glass, 4-sided dice, loose nails, and other horribly pointy things.

I'm not worried about stepping on any of those things now. I'm perfectly capable of seeing things and not stepping on them. Plus, contrary to popular belief, there just isn't very much broken glass, loose nails, or horrible pointy things littering the sidewalks.

Additionally, I don't go barefoot so that my feet can breathe. That's just a side bonus. I go barefoot for the same reason I don't wear gloves - because I like to feel things. I don't like the sensation of not knowing what I'm standing on because my feet are being deliberately cut off from the world.

And, finally, sandals? Don't allow your feet to move naturally.

Now there's something I can understand. That's one of my arguments for favoring the manual truck over the automatic van. The van has cushioning or something- anyway, curves I go over all the time, I never feel them in the van. Then in the truck, it rattles the whole thing. Makes me feel like the van is lying to me, it does. But it works in reverse- that truck is drafty and I'm always looking behind me, or feel I should. So you got being lied to or that over stimulization stuff as your choices.

I like bare footing. I especially like it when your feet start to get all hard and used to it. I used to do it quite a bit more when I lived in the woods.

So the bare feet + man made floors hurt everyone's feet? I thought it was the flat footed stuff. I can't even wear boat shoes. I love boat shoes! Can't expalin it. So simple and weird looking, no weird hanging parts like sandles, so many colors. But they sure do make everything hurt after a couple hours.

My brother has it worse- something about the balance nearly screwed up his back once and now he has to get these casts made for all his shoes. Considering all I have to do is buy slightly more expensive sneakers, I'm pretty well off.

Hmmmm...modern surfaces such as asphalt and concrete were not designed to accomodate bare feet. If one were spending most of one's time on natural surfaces, I would agree completely. Hard surfaces hurt my feet after awhile, and yes, while sidewalks aren't strewn with debris it can at time be a worry. Furthermore, I'd much rather be free to look around than be forced to constantly check the ground to make sure my bare feet could make it safely. True, I do look down from time to time even in shoes to avoid tripping hazards, gum, random debris, etc., but I'd have to do it much more often in bare feet.

I'm a sandals-wearer whenever possible (i.e., as soon as it hits 60 degrees, if I can even wait that long). True, sandals don't allow your feet to move "naturally," but asphalt, cobblestones (common wear I live), and concrete aren't exactly "natural" surfaces, either. I think it's a good compromise, and there are many sandals that let your feet be as close to the ground as possible. Plus, the more you wear them, the more the soles wear out!

Finally, I think shoes = bad moreso than bare feet = good, if that makes sense at all. High heels with poor support = fallen arches, aching backs, weak ankles. And that's just one example, albeit a big one.

Did you catch my amazing, er, typo in the second paragraph?

Is that a Fruedian slip? ;)

True, I do look down from time to time even in shoes to avoid tripping hazards, gum, random debris, etc., but I'd have to do it much more often in bare feet.

That's a misconception. I can promise you that once you get used to it, you're not looking down that often.

I look down almost all the time. I have this klutz gene that causes me to trip on nothing and is only held at bay by me staring at my feet as I walk. Makes me look very uncertain of myself.

And it doesn't matter if I'm shod or barefoot, heh. I am both in plenty of amounts.

But what if there's glass?!?!

I am totally just kidding. =D

Ok, well, I do have to say that in my neighborhood with our proximity to some slightly shifty areas, there is quite often a broken bottle on the ground. Not ALL the time, but often enough. Worse is the fact that the pieces will stay there for a LONG time - I guess no one cares enough to sweep it up.

Yeah, I have also lived places with plentiful glass. Especially near my old high school, where students used to get tire-blowouts from them...

But I just wanted to bug Connie, because I'm nice like that, and I know she's ranted about the lack of glass in the past. =D

I like barefeet at home.
I wear my splints(& therefore shoes) when I go out because 1. a lot of walking without splints is hard on my back and I walk more oddly on artificial surfaces for some reason.

If I didn't have a talipes foot and the associated problems I'd go barefoot even more than I do now.

I came upon this post by reading the comments left on my friends page cry_me_a_road -- sporks5000 left a comment saying that on a friend of his friends page it had this post above hers.

I go barefoot all of the time. I am currently behind a desk at work with my shoes slipped off - and I'm not wearing socks. As long as it isn't too cold out; as soon as I step outside after class or work I'll take my shoes off. I also take them off to drive whenever I can. I often pump my gas shoeless. One day I heard the woman in the car next to me whisper to herself "...no shoes..." while washing my windows.

red

It's funny. I have all kinds of callouses and things on my feet because I've always gone barefoot as much as I can. It's toughened the skin on my feet incredibly. I don't worry about getting a cut on my foot like many people do because the skin there is so resistant to damage.

(I can't tell you how many bits of broken glass and pottery and rocks I've stepped on, and it doesn't bother me a bit.)

I hate wearing shoes.

(And my feet don't smell! :D