BAREFOOT

: with the feet bare

Sometimes it's worth it to walk barefoot. I have city feet. Even in my own home, I wear shoes. I'm just more comfortable this way. But today, I had been wearing water shoes for most of the last twenty-four hours and the sand rubbing against my foot was beginning to chafe. So as I walked back from the beach, I went barefoot.

This required that I walk slowly, look carefully where I was walking and tread lightly. As I did so, I thought this was advice that perhaps I should heed in my life more broadly.

It would do me good to walk more slowly and generally proceed slower through life. There are experiences I miss because I am going too fast. Things I don't see. People I don't meet. Missed opportunities.

For similar reasons, I should look at my surroundings more carefully. The beach is littered with debris brought in from hurricanes. This means that tar, metal and plastic lie alongside the beauty that should litter any beach - amethyst seashells, pearly oyster shells, swirling conchs. It's worth surveying my environment instead of just moving through it untouched.

And while I tread lightly to preserve my tender feet, I wonder how often in life I step on others in my rush to do what I need to do. Treading lightly might make me and others a little less bruised...