- The Never-Told Story -
An
inevitable effect of barefooting is the transformation of both our body and our
mind to adapt to the new experiences that it brings, because the latter are not
simply added to the existing ones, but cause a more or less important
rearrangement in the emotional complex that drives us in daily life,
especially during the first days.
For
example, the expectation of going barefoot to perform our routine activities,
which previously caused us an embarrassing feeling, is now an incentive that
gives us the final "push" to do them. (It happens to me when I take a
bath to go out, something that is quite cumbersome for me, but it encourages me
to think that I will do it barefoot. For sure, everyone have their own phobias and
philias.)
It is the
same with an infinite number of small acts whose meaning, priority and
satisfaction that they cause or not, are modified by adopting this practice.
And the
same also with the complex of our personal relationships, which are necessarily
transformed by the fact of interacting barefoot with our acquaintances and also
with strangers. (And even the clothes and accessories we used to wear, acquire
a different weight, noticing that with some of them we feel better than others
in terms of our new overall appearance.)
But in the
physical and sensory aspect, the effects are even more drastic, such as those
that give title to this article: sunlight on one side and rough terrain on the
other, generate a TANNED SKIN and HARDENED SOLES, which are the body's natural
adaptive response to these conditions, but that in some people come to cause
curious subjective effects of pleasure or disgust, speaking even among
barefooters of "Fetishism," when it is nothing but awareness of the
transformation that has taken place: what's wrong to feel good about it and to
enjoy it?
It's
important then to be aware that barefooting will bring us a series
of physical, perceptual and emotional changes that are largely not reducible or
compatible with conventional criteria, and that many things that most will find
inappropriate, are the most natural for us.
A matter of
basic MENTAL HYGIENE so as not to conflict with or between ourselves.
So let's
enjoy our bare feet and the changes that for better this brings to our lives,
because not everyone dares or can afford this luxury!
OR IS IT
NOT SO?
Fernando Acosta Reyes
(@ferstarey) is founder of the Investigative Society of the Strange
(SIDLE), professional musician and student of social behavior.
Image: Internet
