postmodernpilgrim

we really enjoyed our day, though Cordner and Joy could not participate due to health code conditions in the workplace and school, i let my feet free for the entire day. Cordner and i took a barefoot walk around our community and walked on different things to feel how they felt on our feet. then we traced our feet and made "happy feet" to commemorate our day. all in all, we and our bare feet had fun. and for a good cause, no less. thanks to TOMS and to all others who participated in ONE DAY w/o SHOES. don't wait around for another official event to let your feet free. take your shoes off today and let your tootsies roam. when someone asks why you have no shoes, tell them that there are children in some developing countries that walk miles w/o shoes to get clean water, food, and other essential items...

TOMS shoes; a small, grassroots start-up that manufactures simple shoes with the notion of one-to-one: for each pair of shoes you buy, a pair goes to a third world citizen who needs shoes, is asking that people go shoe-less for ONE DAY to raise awareness about this ongoing situation and the mission and goal of TOMS. that ONE DAY is tomorrow, April 16th, 2009. i am participating and encouraging all of you to participate as well. i fully realize that some work and commerce in settings where this is not acceptable so i would ask that you go shoe-less at your desk or during lunch and possibly re-consider commerce period but at least commerce at establishments where shoe-less-ness would not be acceptable. let's show our feet to show our support for the shoe-less. for more info, visit www.tomsshoes.com .

Duane Elgin, the author of Voluntary Simplicity contributed to inward/outward an examination of the different varieties of simplicity, which he calls the "garden" (i love that image). although the article is entitled "Planting a Lenten Garden of Simplicity", i believe the article holds a great deal of wisdom re: simplicity. i have found it extremely helpful as i am seeking simplicity in my own life. you can find his article here . enjoy.

now i am reading The Circle of Simplicity by Cecile Andrews, in an attempt to voluntarily simplify my own life and the life of my family. came across this early on in a section entitled "Getting Started" and thought it was worth sharing: "You begin to do this with everything. Do I really need this? Do I really want to spend time with this person? Do I really want to work for a promotion? You may be wondering if this really simplifies life. Be aware, we're not talking about efficiency or convenience. Sometimes living simply takes longer. We are talking about our quality of life-whether it brings joy and serenity rather than frustration and aggravation. Whether it brings a sense of congruence or fragmentation. But while simplicity may be more complex, it shouldn't be more complicated. Something that is complicated is confusing; something that is complex is challenging. A life of simplicity is complex and challenging." recommend this book highly, also...