Barefoot walking shoes and their manual.
Dear friends,
A different topic for a moment – because it’s holiday time, and a good time to go for a walk. “The best thoughts come while walking,” said Nietzsche.
So, last week I treated myself to a new pair of walking shoes – barefoots. You know, those shoes that feel as if you’re not wearing any shoes at all. Made entirely of leather, cork, and merino wool—with a wafer-thin layer of rubber as the sole. I loved them immediately. It’s truly a delight to be able to read the story of the ground again with your feet.
The man in the shop warned me to take it easy: just a kilometre a day for the first week, then maybe try two, and so on. Six months, he said, before my feet and leg muscles would be fully adjusted to this new walking style.
Two days later I headed to the Ardennes. I loved the shoes so much that on the first day I walked nine kilometres, and the next day twenty. My youngest years may be behind me, but that fellow in the shop had badly underestimated me. Uphill, downhill – you float with these shoes.
The following morning, I tried getting out of bed. I had to catch myself before toppling over – my upper calf muscles seemed to have turned into dried wood overnight. Later, when I stepped out of the car to pick something up from the butcher’s, I timed it carefully so only the butcher would be the one laughing himself silly.
In other words: I can highly recommend barefoot shoes to everyone – just don’t forget to read the manual.
Happy walking,
Mattias
I wonder: Before rubber was invented, Native Americans wore moccasins made out of nothing but deer hide. Even the shoes of Europeans were made out of cow leather and cloths of Natural origin. Perhaps these shoes made of Natural materials didn't block the electrical energies, and other energies coming directly from the Earth. Then along comes rubber, then asphalt, cement, etc., removing us farther and farther from the Energies coming from the Earth, and taking us farther and farther away from our connection to Nature itself.
I have been wearing Vibram five fingers for at least 10 years. The toes re-engage with the earth and you walk more like an animal does, sure footed and alive. Muscles in the foot that have been dormant reawaken. One becomes more aware of the ground and its contours. Rarely do I need anything else to hike. It becomes obvious that most shoes are actually harming our bodies.