Mikaela Martinez Dettinger - Shoes

     On a whim I stumbled across a journal article about the benefits of walking barefoot outside. The explanatory sentence in the abstract reads "Multi-disciplinary research has revealed that electrically conductive contact of the human body with the surface of the Earth (grounding or earthing) produces intriguing effects on physiology and health. Such effects relate to inflammation, immune responses, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases." I thought this was absolutely incredible. Yes, it is incredible that there is proven research explaining how walking barefoot can help chronic conditions, but more specifically, I thought that it is incredible that us silly humans have to be told that its good to walk barefoot. Growing up and even now I am found barefoot whenever it is appropriate. My mom despises it, but I am who I am. I've always felt connected to earth whenever I am barefoot. Especially in the summer time. It feels as though I am pulling all of the joyful vibrance of the earth into my being in the same way that one feels when the first warm day of spring happens and the sun feels so rejuvenating. 

      Sometimes shoes are necessary or appropriate, but people may have forgotten that our feet callous so easily because they are meant to be our shoes! Thinking more on this, I realized that maybe shoes are like the gardens Eisenberg explained. It is our way of making the terrain more suitable for our own needs, only this time instead of constructing ha-has and modifying the landscape, we add these accessories to ourselves. This is a great tool! Or at least it is until it is taken too far. Not long ago I asked some friends if they would want to go hike on the Noland Trail with me, and they happily indulged me. However when we got to the trail and we saw an offshoot leading in an interesting direction one friend did not want to follow it because they might get their new shoes dirty. Now, don't get me wrong, as a 20 year old girl I understand the sanctity of a new pair of shoes, but there is a time and a place for them and that time and place is not while hiking. In my chapter of Eisenberg we talked about gardens and lawns being mixers and dividers, and shoes could be a part of that same debate. They help us mix with the natural world by allowing be to step on branches and no have thorns constantly in my feet, but they can also separate us from experiencing nature such as in the case of my friend, or remedying chronic illnesses such as is possible according to the article which sparked this contemplation. 



R;, O. (n.d.). The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25848315/

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