An Ode to Joyous Feet
There are certain people who burst their way into this world, like a shooting star, which never dims, weakens or fades. From the time they are born they are blessed with this ceaseless store of positive energy which only seems to brighten as the years fade to gray. In our short time here on earth, we may know of one (maybe two if we’re really lucky) of these vibrant beings. They may not be pretty, elegant, worldy (oh, definitely not!), or obliging. Oh, but they sure are vibrant, non-conforming, unconventional, original, full of laughter and sometimes down right exhausting to be around.
However, if we are lucky enough to cross paths with one of these “shooting stars”, our lives are turned upside down, spun around, and injected by a sense of joy which we never before knew existed. We often leave their sides with a new sense of strength and realization that, “this is OUR life and we too can live it OUR OWN WAY!”
Now, you may be wondering what the picture above has anything to do with these supernovas I am talking about. You may look at this picture of these feet and wonder why I would put such an “unpretty” picture on my blog. You may smugly be thinking to yourself that you are blessed with earth’s most beautiful feet. Please bear with me, I’m getting to the point here.
When we were born, one of the first things many of our parents did was count all of our fingers and all of our toes. As children our parents often played, “This Little Piggy Went to the Market” (that lovely little foot tickling rhyme) while we squealed in delight at the “wee wee wee all the way home” ending. As toddlers, being fit for our first pair of shoes was a wonderful milestone. Our parents often bronzed them and put them on a shelf somewhere for all the world to admire.
As the years went on and we got older, we learned how to integrate these phrases into our daily use of language (as defined by Webster’s dictionary):
-at one’s feet : under one’s spell or influence
- foot in the door : the initial step toward a goal
- off one’s feet : in a sitting or lying position
- on foot : by walking or running on foot>
- on one’s feet: in an established position or state
“Feet” clearly held an important place in society and in our every day worlds. So now, here we are in the year 2007. The media has defined that what is ”Pretty” (as defined by people that “know”) is acceptable and worthy. Women spend millions of dollars primping and doting on their appearance and people who feel they don’t measure up spend their days feeling less than adequate. In order for our feet to feel “pretty”, women must have a freshly pedicured look with the latest nail color. If our feet aren’t presentable, we hide them in our shoes and try to cram an appointment to the nail salon into our already hectic schedules so that our social walls do not come crashing down. (ok, I guess I’ll have to save the rest of this for another day)
So, back to the picture above. These feet are defined by me as beautiful, joyous, well-lived, and honored. They have walked this earth with a pep in their step for more than 3/4 of a century and they have stories (as well as a few off color jokes) to tell that would knock the socks off your very own blessed feet. They are unashamed, real, true, and worthy as they house the body of one of the world’s true “Shooting Stars”.
More Beautiful Joyous feet (kitty feet too!)
Oh….. Hail to Joyous Feet!
Love this Ode’ Keep up the good work!
This is thought provoking, for one because the image is so strange it catches me up, love the dancerly quality of the legs and the way the wood affects all the other rippling textures.
Have been thinking about how you focus on unexpected beauty, how you found an image that is raw and real, not romanticized;and made it an expression of someone’s empowered sense of self. I bet those feet dance around alot, twinkle toe-ish. The associated phrases and definitions you posted also remind me of Christ and how some people sit at the feet of their spiritual teachers… at one’s feet…you said was like “under the spell of” and it made me think of how people sat with Jesus and the instance of washing his disciples feet, and other images in the Bible. I think you are doing a graceful thing that honors something in your person, by taking the time to write about this, it shows your love and pleasure for this person and even how much he “exhausts” you with all that energy.
Its also like children and puppies and cats, how they are under foot, or even around the foot, learning to walk, or how we footsie around, or take a path… the sandles remind me of that kind of simplicity of people who take a simple way, not a lot of posessions, honoring themselves and their gift of life instead of “good shoes”! Hopkins has a poem, “The Grandeur of God” where he says, Man’s foot being shod, he can not feel… or something close to that. I will have to get it and post it… that poem is in my mind alot… but at any rate
your blog is a great source of Mansuetude and i have enjoyed it.
Thanks.
Every time I read your blogs, I ask myself how much more of you there is for me to discover. Thank you for taking something so natural and so taken for granted and reminding us that we can find beauty in the most unlikely of places. It’s not all about the looks. Of anything. It’s about how we can apply the beauty of someone’s inner being to who we are and how we got to where we are. Thank you for being the teacher in all you do. God really did it when he created your spirit!