Barefoot friends are friends I make through barefoot shoes. How? Read on!
Table of Contents
Connections
Barefoot shoes are a life hack. They bring freedom, lightness, and connection – not only with your body and the earth, but also with other like-minded people.
I keep making friends through barefoot shoes, within and beyond my town and my country. There is a kind of tribal feeling in this community, partly because it is a relatively small group of people around the world. But more than that, I believe it is because a lot of us share similar values and life attitudes.
Common values
What do I mean?
With so many of you, we share at least one, but more likely quite many of the following:
- being brave enough to go for our own truth even if it goes against the ’norm’
- being curious about other people’s experience & being ready to share our own
- being open to trying something different
- being closer to one’s body and feelings
- being closer to nature
- being focused on sustainability
- being focused on fair treatment of ourselves, the Earth and each other etc.
I am quite sure each of you can think of some more. Please comment: what is it that you find in the barefoot communities beyond shoes?
Two-way process
I find that it is a two-way process.
On the one hand, my friends are learning constantly about barefoot shoes through me. More and more of them try them, and those who do often transition for good. I’m not surprised – the same happened to me 😜.
On the other hand, I get close to complete strangers because of our passion towards comfortable, non-limiting, healthy footwear. We try each other’s shoes, discuss foot shapes and new models, exchange tips, sometimes philosophize, and with some, we develop a closer relationship.
In fact, I am realizing that through this, I have become more open to others, and I enjoy it very much. Thanks to barefoot shoes being such an exciting topic, I can now start discussions with complete strangers out of the blue, no inhibitions, no aggravation. How cool is that? 🧡🧡
International
This goes international too.
Besides a number of people with whom we had short but every so interesting online discussions and glimpses at each other’s lives, with some we have become real friends.
I have a Hungarian friend who lives in Vienna. Initially, she was happy to see somebody Hungarian post about barefoot shoes and contacted me. Soon we were discussing books and life and all, and we meet up every now and then when she visits home.
I have a new friend over from the Ukraine right now. We met online, followed each other’s posts, and when she asked me for advice on where to stay in Budapest, I invited her to live with me. We turned out enjoying each other’s company far beyond our common interest in barefoot shoes.
Custom barefoot sandals in Budapest
In one of the Hungarian barefoot Facebook groups, somebody recently reported on a shop in Budapest where custom leather sandals can be ordered in a barefoot version, at a very reasonable price. We ordered two pairs for my new Ukrainian friend, and they came out really good! The sole is flexible enough, especially after the first day of wear, and while the ground feel is not that of the Wildlings, it is very satisfactory.
I will write about the shop and their sandals separately at a later point.
📌 📌 📌 In the meantime, you can find detailed information on barefoot shoe shops available in and from Budapest here
Lifestyle
To sum it all up, wearing barefoot shoes is more than a fashion or even a health choice. It is more like a lifestyle. And it changes you on the go! It changes your feet, your posture, your gait, and in the long run, your consciousness.
Ready, steady, go?
How have barefoot shoes influenced your life beyond your footwear?