Shoes! Ugh! Running shoes, dress shoes, tennis shoes, snow shoes, dancing shoes, shoes, shoes, and more shoes. There are even different versions called boots, slippers, and flip flops. What’s with the modern day obsession with the things that bind and cover our feet. Okay, shoes are a necessity today. Not military survival or die in your boots necessity but we live in a world where we are judged by what we wear on our feet. And yah, I like to see my honey in heels. Thank goodness she has more than one.
Going barefoot seems like a vulnerable act today but I just love it. I spend most of my day in the dojo barefoot and on holidays, I look so forward to going barefoot in the sand or on a boat. I practice my shodo barefoot and I eat at my favorite Izakaya in Okinawa, Japan also shoeless.
Ahhhh yes, if only I could live my life totally without the necessity of shoes. The reality however is that we need them to progress and function in society. Shoes have the dual role of form and function protecting our feet from the cold and elements. I can’t imagine working in a steel mill without them. One day however, my journey will lead me to a shoeless, bootless, and slipperless nirvana. Until then I will live with my shoes and wear them grudgingly. They will bear every type of muck, cold, heat, and torture the environment can muster. They will be the brunt of my lashes through my daily toil. One day, like a good and loyal workhorse however, I promise to find them a place where they can idle as long they want harnessed only by a brisk breeze with no other purpose than to be admired.
One day my friend, there will be no more use for you and I will spend my days totally barefoot in my retirement and content with some sort of personal satoshi. One day my brother…one day.
