barefoot day!

So last week on twitter some of the celebrities were talking about "one day without shoes" so I - being the follower that I am - looked around to see what it was about...

here's the website: http://onedaywithoutshoes.com/

I thought about it, but I didn't want to do it alone, so I texted my friend, Lydia, to see if she'd be willing to join me... the funny part is, we never see one another on Thursdays (and today was no exception), but just knowing that SOMEONE else out there would be wandering Columbia barefoot gave me courage.

So I made the commitment. I posted an invite on Facebook for anyone else who wanted the opportunity to participate, and a few people said they were planning to do it too, which was encouraging!

This morning, I felt like I was the new kid in class - you know, that anxiety of "what will everyone think of me"?? - as I walked into the building where I work. It is on campus, and the first person I see is another student who smiles and says: "Hey Stephanie! Glad to see your lack of shoes there!" and I look down to see that he, too, is barefoot! WHEW! Pretty cool, eh?

Well, it was for me anyway.

I had also committed to working in the garden this morning - which was pretty precarious... where there aren't plants, there is tree bark. And fire ants. But all was well - an hour in the garden! And my hands got the fire ants, not my feet, which I found "interesting".

I worked for another couple hours, walked back to my car, and drove across campus to my classroom buildings. There is a cafe-ish place, in the middle of 3 buildings, with a lot of outdoor tables so I sat down on one and had a snack while I people watched. SO MANY PEOPLE WITHOUT SHOES! It was wild! I made a few trips up & down flights of stairs, went back and forth across parking lots, nearly cried from the pain of the asphalt cutting into the soles of my feet... and reminded myself that I only have one day. Others have a lifetime.

It was so nice to think about other people instead of myself, even if it was in those moments when I wanted to cry. Three times, I was like "forget it. I've done it for [insert time frame here], that's enough, right?" (to myself, of course). But I remembered Lydia's post and kept on.

I went into Starbucks to get a coffee. Things I learned: all that pain and concentration really wipes you out. So I go into the bldg to get my "fix" of caffeine and one of the employees stops and turns to me and says (in a big, thick country southern accent): "honey, I think you forgot yo' shoes!"

I smiled.

And I explained to her & to the 2 other employees who were now interested, because southerners are not known for there inside voices, why I was barefoot and that I was not alone. They asked questions about how tough it was for me, what the experience was like, etc... that conversation made the pain worth it for me.

I made it through ONE day without shoes. It's crazy how torn I am. I don't want to feel "proud" of myself for accomplishing this... I want to never forget how painful it was - I want to remember that millions of people suffer like that EVERY day. I want to be motivated & motivate others to help remedy this statistic.

One thing I do want to say, though: most of the pain occurred when I was in parking lots & on stairwells with "non-slip" surfaces. These are not common in places where people are shoeless. I found myself migrating toward the grassy/dirt path areas... which I found intriguing. I look forward to the day when people can have shoes AND less asphalt. Both. There is more than just PAIN that these people have to deal with. And we "first world" populations could do with more grassy places and dirt paths...

Be Love.