This I believe Project!
I believe in Living Life Barefoot
The barefoot Philosopher
Shoeless I entered the world. Shoeless I will leave it. My coming, my going –Two simple happenings. That got entangled some where within timelessness. I believe in living life barefoot, aware of where I place my foot at that one moment, never behind, nor ahead. I was born timeless, connected to the vibrations expressed by the moment and the earths pulse. I was free from the idea of shoes, the dependency on materialistic movements. We are born to shed out shoes despite disapproval, we are born to life our life waltzing among on our feet fabricating stories of myth and adventure in our mothers gardens. We are born to find happiness within being barefoot. But, society’s harsh voice rings in our ears; “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” So we broke the connection and forget.
The moment I remembered my connection somewhere off the coast of the Yucatán on an island called La Isla de Las Mujeres (The Island of Woman) where lime juice is as plentiful as sunlight and stories are told in broken English. It happened neck deep in salt water and Caribbean Reef Sharks. It was a moment I could have easily angled my focus toward telling the story of what I was doing in that moment. But, I remembered the words of Miro, my fathers new Islander friend. “Life is about living, not preparing to live.” He said in reply to my fathers travel plans. So, I decided to experience the buzzing feeling in my toes as the sharks came closer.
I will never forget the connection to this earth or timelessness. It was in a place where light filters though treetops and the air is as thick and sweet as molasses. A place where the locals use the cry of howler monkeys as alarm clocks, some call it home and others just call it hot. I call it Costa Rica, the place I vowed to live in the moment, live unsupported of materialistic movements, and of coarse, to live barefoot. We, as humans, are born to experience the connection of the earth under out feet, to live in the moment. To be close to our nature despite all of the things that are trying to disintegrate the connection. Maybe, if mankind slipped off our shoes we could see we all have the same nature. Maybe, we could start choosing to live a life worth living barefoot. So, reader, I encourage you to kick off your shoes, stick your toes in the mud, and find something, you too believe in.
Reflection
In this project we wrote a 500 word or less essay inspired from NPR’s this I believe radio segment. My final essay was written on the spiritual and metaphorical values of living life barefoot. In order to generate our beliefs we started with some brain storming activities such as starters that inspired our thinking. Through the process of writing my essay I found that I was having a huge issue narrowing down my thoughts into a 500 word essay while keeping a strong authentic voice, narrative coherence, and communal relevance. “Maybe, if mankind slipped off our shoes we could see we all have the same nature. Maybe, we could start choosing to live a life worth living barefoot. So, reader, I encourage you to kick off your shoes, stick your toes in the mud, and find something, you too believe in.” This quote took a lot of refinement to construct a conclusion that supported a strong authentic voice, narrative coherence, and communal relevance.
I used refinement in my essay to come the final version. In the beginning of my writing the thoughts I was having were WAY too big for my fingers to write. I really wanted to articulate that being barefoot can connect to unifying us as humans and stop political and social violence but, because that is such a huge topic I had to focus on one main issue in society. Materialistic movements. Through the refinement of my writing to be concise and NOT rambling on about different social and political injustices that being barefoot could fix I learned that a person may have many strong beliefs but, they do not need to share them all at one time. Sometimes it is better to focus on one belief and make it a strong one.
I am most proud of the imagery I incorporated into my essay. One example of this is: “It was in a place where light filters though treetops and the air is as thick and sweet as molasses. A place where the locals use the cry of howler monkeys as alarm clocks, some call it home and others just call it hot. I call it Costa Rica, the place I vowed to live in the moment, live unsupportive of materialistic movements, and of coarse, to live barefoot.” This quote from my essay enunciates the feeling of being in Costa Rica so strongly that it not only makes me proud of my experiencing that moment but also that I could articulate it in such a beautiful way.
I believe that one aspect of my essay that needs refinement is my ability to express huge thoughts in small words. One example of where I could have refined my writing to be more concise but just as flavorful is: “It was a moment I could have easily angled my focus toward telling the story of what I was doing in that moment. But, I remembered the words of Miro, my father’s new Islander friend. “Life is about living, not preparing to live.” He said in reply to my fathers travel plans. So, I decided to experience the buzzing feeling in my toes as the sharks came closer.” Where I could have said: “The words of my dads new islander friend brought me back to the moment. “Life is about living, not preparing to live.” So, instead of thinking of future conversations I enjoyed the moment.” This quote would have enriched my writing and I plan to add it in when I send it into NPR.
Participating in this conversation influenced my thinking as a member of the human community by showing me more of myself. One quote from my essay that really made me dig deep into who I am as a person and what I believe in is my concluding sentences: “Maybe, if mankind slipped off our shoes we could see we all have the same nature. Maybe, we could start choosing to live a life worth living barefoot. So, reader, I encourage you to kick off your shoes, stick your toes in the mud, and find something, you too believe in.” This quote showed me more of myself when I used the word “choose” because it showed me that in life, we choose the life that we want weather we do it concisely or unconsciously. And I choose to live a life of connection to this earth, living in the moment, and not dependent on materialistic items.