It's a fact. People who are barefooted while vacuuming have cleaner homes than those who vacuum wearing shoes, be they flip flops, sneakers, clogs, jelly shoes, loafers, organ shoes, or Russian boots.
Too, barefooted vacuumers are much more likely to dance a jig at least once during vacuuming than their shod counterparts. Some have even been known to dance a jig and whistle the accompaniment at the same time.
There's something liberating about being barefooted, also called “'earthing” or “grounding” when venturing outdoors. The toes flex their strength as they become aware of the new balancing power they have. The heel revels in the exhilaration produced by flesh and earth contact. Suddenly, there's a feeling of freedom from the constraints of the world.
Scientifically speaking, there are all kinds of health benefits to shedding the shoes whenever possible: sleep is improved, chronic pain is reduced, energy increases, stress is reduced and calmness is produced, blood pressure readings improve, muscle tension is relieved and headaches disappear, healing is faster, snoring is reduced or eliminated, recovery time from injuries is shortened, plus many more benefits. (See the Wellness Mama blog “Health Benefits of Going Barefoot”).
Unlike our ancestors of yore, many, if not most people today, have an aversion to bare feet.
Many restaurants post signs advising customers, “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” People grimace at the sight of engagement announcements in newspapers where the bride and groom are barefooted. Formal or business attire and bare feet are viewed as crude and uncivilized.
Barefooted in a church service? Unheard of!
It hasn't been that long ago – maybe 50 years or so – that children, especially the boys, went to school barefooted. Their lack of footwear wasn't necessarily because they were economically deprived, but instead, their parents were aware of the benefits of letting their children feel the earth under their feet. It was common knowledge that there was something about going barefooted that produced healthy and well-adjusted children.
Barefooted-ness back then was much like Mississippians' attitude toward craziness in a family. Mississippians don't hide their crazy relatives; they put them on the front porch so everyone can enjoy them. Likewise, barefooted boys were put on the front row in the class photos almost as if to say, “Hey, y'all! Look at how healthy and well-adjusted our barefooted students are.”
Rufus Putter was the Big Man on Campus at Polk Avenue Elementary School back in the early 1950s. His repertoire of talents was inexhaustible.
Not only could he hang upside down on the monkey bars for the entire recess without getting red in the face, but he could walk barefooted through the sand on the playground on a 100-degree day without the slightest grimace.
That's where his greatest talent lay … his feet. They were legendary. Epic, even.
No one ever witnessed it, but the rumor was that Rufus somehow exercised his toes to the point where they practically had superhuman strength. He was as comfortable with using his toes as most folks are with using their hands.
One day when the teachers weren't looking, Rufus ate his entire lunch, which consisted of hamburger steak with gravy, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob and field peas, with his toes. He even stole Mary Lou Lipperwill's light bread so as to finish sopping up the gravy … with his celebrated toes, of course.
At a scant 60 pounds, he could grab onto a fellow student with his toes and have his largest prey beggin' for mercy. When it came to a game of marbles, Rufus couldn't be beat. He would latch onto a marble between his big toe and his second toe aka long toe, and then knuckle down against the ground. The power of his released marble cinched his championship as the marbles flew in all directions, never to be seen again.
Even today, at 70-plus years of age, Rufus occasionally hangs from the monkey bars and walks through super heated sand without grimacing. The rest of his day is spent on the front porch where his wife puts him so everyone can enjoy him.
Granted. Earthing is not for everyone, but one thing is for certain. If you're barefooted, “This Little Piggy” is much more entertaining as you wiggle your big toe and sing, “This little piggy went to market,” and then wiggle your long toe and sing, “This little piggy stayed home,” followed by wiggling the middle toe and singing “This little piggy had roast beef,” and then by wiggling the “ring” toe and singing, “This little piggy had none.”
And what could be more exciting than the grand finale, which could be rendered by wiggling the pinky and singing, “And this little piggy went wee, wee, wee, all the way home.”
Tickling the bottom of your foot is optional.
