How often do we take things for granted? I know I take many things for granted. Today I, along with about 100,000 other people all over the country, spent the day barefoot. I attended class, went to Wal-Mart as well as pumped gas all barefoot.
Spending the day barefoot was by far one of the hardest things to do (not to mention disgusting at some points). The only way I made it through the day was by constantly reminding myself that there are SO many people around the world that have no choice but to go barefoot 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The conditions these people face are horrific and extremely unsanitary. Imagine being a parent and watching your children walking barefoot through dirt, sewage, human feces, and not able to do anything about it. These people are susceptible to all sorts of illness and disease as a result of not having shoes.
According to a study conducted by Consumer Reports National Research Center, the average American woman owns, on average 19 pairs of shoes. I have to admit, going into my closet I can count far more than 19 pairs of shoes (and thats before I count the ones under my bed). Spending today barefoot and really realizing how I take something as simple as shoes for granted has been a totally sobering experience. The sentence that went through my mind all day today was "Other people have it so much worse than this and are walking through nastier stuff than I am"....remembering this was the only way I made it through the day.
Even though today was quite disgusting and got my moneys worth out of my pumice stone scrubbing my feet tonight in the shower I would not trade today's experience for anything and I cannot wait for next year!!
