I Do, and I Don’t

When I first started learning about grounding and earthing, one idea came up again and again.

Take off your shoes and get outside.

Walk barefoot.

Feel the earth beneath your feet.

The more I researched, the more I found myself drawn to the idea. I loved what it represented. Slowing down. Connecting to nature and reconnecting with myself.

I wanted that feeling.

There was just one problem.

I don’t actually like being barefoot.

However, I do like being barefoot in my shower. My bed. On my yoga mat.

Places that are familiar. Places that feel clean. Places my nervous system already trusts.

Outside is different.

Pebbles hurt. Wet grass isn’t particularly relaxing for me. Hot pavement may as well be hot coals. And if you have a dog, and backyard like mine, you continuously play the game of ‘poop?’ or ‘pine cone?’

For a while, I thought earthing was a no-go for me as I simply wasn’t a barefoot person. Learning about grounding shoes, sometimes called barefoot shoes, gave me the idea that maybe I could experience grounding outdoors in a way that fit me.

I wasn’t looking for grounding sandals. In fact, I didn’t even know they existed. I simply thought it was time to replace my usual rubber flip-flops. Then I came across a pair of leather grounding sandals, and something about them felt worth trying. Today, I wear them almost every day, inside the house and throughout the garden.

On a deeper level, I suspect the universe knew I was looking for a version of barefoot that fit me.

I Wanted the Experience

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn’t really about being barefoot.

It was about wanting to experience my everyday life a little differently.

I wanted to step outside without thinking twice. To follow Sammy into the yard while he explored. To feel the air and sun directly on my skin.

To water and speak to the plants. To move naturally between my home and the outdoors throughout the day.

To have a direct plug into the earth. A chance to recharge my everything.

Being barefoot seemed to be the only way everyone described experiencing that energy.

I just couldn’t seem to get past the barefoot part.

The Wrong Question

For a while, I assumed I had two choices.

Learn to enjoy being barefoot.

Or don’t be barefoot.

Looking back, I can see those were never my only options.

I had confused the method with the goal.

The goal wasn’t to become someone who loved walking barefoot.

The goal was to spend more time outside. To feel connected to nature. To enjoy the simple rhythm of moving between my home and the outdoors. To feel more present in my everyday life.

Barefoot was simply one way of getting there. It was never the destination.

Once I realized that, I stopped asking: “How can I become someone who enjoys being barefoot so that I can experience the grounding of earthing?”

Instead, I started asking a different question: “What would help me experience the same grounding feeling in a way that actually fit me?”

Discovering a Better Fit

The answer wasn’t learning to enjoy being barefoot.

The answer was finding something that allowed me to experience everything I was looking for in a way that actually fit me.

Eventually, I found a pair of grounding sandals.

They weren’t trying to replace being barefoot.

They became a trusted surface that traveled with me.

Instead of paying attention to what was beneath my feet, I found myself paying attention to everything around me.

The warmth of the sun. The breeze moving through the trees. The evening birds and the morning birds. Sammy wandering off for one of his own sniff-and-explore moments, but never too far away.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking about the sandals altogether. They simply became part of my way of being.

My opinion about being barefoot never changed.

The barefoot sandals allowed me to experience the energy I had hoped barefoot would give me.

My Pathway to Grounding

This experience changed the way I think about more than just grounding.

It reminded me to pay closer attention to what I was really trying to experience.

For a while, I believed the only path available to earthing was to become someone I wasn’t; someone who enjoyed being barefoot outside.

It wasn’t.

My desire was to spend more time outside. To listen to the morning and the evening birds. To wander through the garden while Sammy did his thing. To move naturally between my home and the outdoors. To feel more connected to the world around me.

Once I understood that, I stopped trying to become someone who enjoyed being barefoot. Instead, I started asking a different question: What am I actually trying to experience?

That question led me to another path, one that felt much more like my own.

New Paths I Want to Make and Take

I’ve found myself returning to that question in many areas of my life.

Whether I’m planning, organizing, reflecting, building routines, or simply caring for myself in my Life Cycle Way, I’m learning that there are often many paths available to reach the same destination experience.

Sometimes the answer isn’t changing ourselves to fit the environment. Sometimes, it’s becoming curious enough to discover what fits us best, and then choose which environment we’d like to be in.

My version of barefoot became my pathway to the experience of grounding.

Curious?

If this story resonated with you and you’re curious about the grounding sandals that became my pathway to grounding, I’ve also put together a separate recommendation.

There, I share how I use them, what I like about them, and who I think they might be a good fit for.

Resources

My Version of Barefoot Resources

• The Life Cycle Way – My flexible framework for planning, organizing, doing and reflecting by taking small steps and making meaningful progress. Try the Life Cycle Way (free) with my Life Cycle Way starter guide, a gentle way to begin.

• A Musical Companion while Earthing – Jane Monheit‘s swinging cover of “Honeysuckle Rose” played on loop in my head while watching the honey bees work in the lavender. Goodness knows, my honeysuckle rose.