Oh my feet

For several years now I have been going barefoot throughout the warmer half of the year.  There have been plenty of issues with this, nearly all of which have been based around other people reacting to my bare feet with irrational rage.  It is very hard when someone dresses in a way you aren't expecting, you see, and the only reasonable way to deal with that confusion is to lash out at them for daring to challenge your preconceptions.  There are occasionally issues with overly hot road surfaces, pokey bits of gravel, and other physical challenges but those are minor compared to the social blockades people put up when you step outside the lines.

This year I have only gone barefoot three times.  Spring is the ideal time for it as it is warm enough to be comfortable but the roads are not yet able to burn me.  Despite that I just haven't been in the mood to fight with people about my mode of dress and so I have been wearing sandals nearly all the time.  I like being barefoot generally speaking but I don't actually relish the confrontations that go along with it, despite the attitude I often display around it.  I want people to stop being assholes about policing my footwear but I don't take joy in their indignation and bitterness being directed my way.  I just feel like it is a thing worth changing.

I have felt distracted, tired, and uninterested in fighting this spring.  That might be due to me getting less sleep than usual because of my new raiding schedule, or maybe it is my generally higher level of busyness.  I can't say for sure, but I have definitely been slipping on my shoes because I just don't want another showdown about it.

It makes me sad to be this way.  I want to be the fearless crusader, a neverending font of energy and vim, fighting the good fight at all times and against all foes.  That isn't me right now though, unfortunately.

The shoes aren't the thing, exactly, though obviously I think people's attitude towards shoelessness is ridiculous.  It is the general assumption that people make, the entitlement to tell others how they must dress, that is my real target.  Hard to say if I ever make any real progress that way but that larger goal is important to me and I want to strike at it when I can.

For now though I am going to try to nap more and be more efficient with my time so I can get back to fighting shape.  At the very least I want to have that 'bring it on!' attitude back, regardless of any attention that I get from random shopkeepers eager to send the riffraff on his way.