Bare Feet and Invisible Progress

When everything looks visibly bleak, go stand in the forest with your bare feet and listen. If you’re still long enough, you’ll hear the trees whisper to you about what it takes to overcome.

Photo by the author

I walk outside barefoot year round. I stand on the forest floor with the leaf litter cushioning my steps and crunching beneath my heels. On brisk mornings in the fall and spring, the temperature difference between shaded spots and sunny spots is very noticeable, and stepping from chilly or frosty blades of grass onto ground with a few…