It’s Humanitarian day today and via Peter Gabriel’s newsletter I heard of the ‘barefoot-campaign’ to raise awareness for human rights. This campaign in particular wants us to help raise awareness for the right of every human to have food and shoes….

 

So I signed up immediately and decided that: to help get more people involved, my barefoot challenge would take place two days before the 10th, so I could Twitter and Facebook about it, write a blog and put it in my newsletter. This way I’d reach as many people as possible! I’m barefoot as I write this, but today my work is indoors… it’s not much of a challenge. That was the second reason for doing it two days early. I wanted to be out and about while doing my challenge, because being barefoot IS a challenge.

 

Here’s the result: I set myself three barefoot tasks in three different places with a total barefoot time of nine hours. I started at home doing my treatments barefoot and of course people do notice it instantly so it’s the first thing they comment on: ‘Oh, is that not a bit too cold?’ This part of the challenge was easy and not too uncomfortable at all, three hours done!

Then I had to go to Chew Magna to see my orthodontist and I would be barefoot there as well. I must admit that I didn’t do the long dogwalk beforehand barefoot, and I didn’t do all of the driving barefoot either because it felt weird to drive like that… It didn’t feel safe and with two recent carcrashes in the back of my mind, I put my shoes on for a bit…and Oh My, how good those shoes felt, so warm and comfortable. It does make you feel so much better with warm shoes on!!

 

At the orthodontist, my bare feet did raise a few eyebrows, and they did look at me as if slightly crazy… ( living in Glastonbury and having this profession doesn’t really help in that matter!) It made me feel uncomfortable at times and shy too and I realized that this is how people who do not have shoes must feel too! It humbled me greatly… my own awareness raised as well… At the same time I found it fun to raise awareness like this. It connects people on a heart level and it’s for such a good cause.

I then continued my journey to Bristol for barefoot treatments at Atkinsons Spa House in romantic Clifton. This was the hardest part of being barefoot, the floor of the treatment room is stonecold, I can’t bear it in summer, let alone in winter and another five hours of barefoot work were to come. If it was this dounting for me now, it must be incredibly hard to be barefoot all the time… and it again humbled me so so much… we all have so much to be grateful for!

Just to be a part of this campaign and be barefoot for a few hours. What insights it gave. I do encourage you all to try it, especially now!! You’ll be amazed how grateful you feel for what you have… It was easy to talk to others about these simple yet so important needs that every person on this planet has a right to, and I found it fun… I like a bit of crazy adventure every now and then. I did venture out barefoot as well and I noticed that it was much easier to walk on slippery iced sidewalks while being barefoot.

Much better grip then with shoes on and it reminded me of walking the Tor-labyrinth in Glastonbury for five hours barefoot in summer one day and how easy that was without shoes or walking sandals! Our feet really are made for every type of weather but… it’s also unbearable, in summer my bare feet ended up with so many tiny thorns and now, my feet were freezing off…

By the end of the five hours of work in Bristol, the stonecold had reached my knees and it was hard to stay concentrated on my work while feeling that cold. Again a humbling insight… so I’m pleased that I did this, it raised my own awareness tremendously and I hope it raises yours by reading this. It’s not too late, you can always make a pledge, you can still join in today and raise awareness by going Barefoot!

Please visit  BAREFOOT AGAINST POVERTY and get involved!!

Love from a humbled Sacha.
ps. You can see pictures of this challenge on my Facebook and Twitterpage, and it will be up on the Barefoot website soon too!