Barefoot Path
Me and my brother Sam at the Black suspension bridge, South Kaibab Trail, base of the Grand Canyon at the Colorado River - 2002
I decided today I would put some work into having a place to put what I’m writing and my current study of yoga. I’m writing a lot now and enjoying it thoroughly.
We’ll start with introspection; Ive been off social media all year and honestly, it’s been a joy, a genuine eye-opening joy, but this is where the people live, and so, in an effort not to be a grouchy old hermit, I’m here too. I need to learn the art of moderation, or I’m going to grow up into an old, offline, angry t-total vegan, and that’s not what I want. So why put my writing on social media? I have always been someone who can write, sing and dance for just myself, I don’t need external appreciation of what I’m doing to continue doing it. That being said, writing has always stood as the odd one out, I write outwardly, it’s always for me, but frequently for everyone. So here I am, I’ve written hundreds of thousands, if not millions of words in books, blogs, copy, posts and letters, it’s what I love and I would love to share it with you.
Future wise, I’m doing my yoga teacher training and in the future, I want to teach Yoga, hopefully in my wife’s beautiful studio and many other places. Its funny, the plan was always to teach when I retire. The plan was to retire at around 50, buy a beat-up old boat and a dog, fish for my tea each night and sail the coastline of the Ionian Sea peddling my calm to anyone who’ll give me enough money to buy my next bottle of shit greek wine. It’s a golden plan, and something I still very much intend to do. But, as life often does, I threw me a curve ball - the yoga teacher I like said this was her last year teaching, and so I decided this was the year I learn, then ill use it down the line. Turns out as much as I have loved yoga being a part of my life for the last decade, teaching and being a part of the community has made me realise that 50 is too many potential “generic stress-based deaths” away, and when I’m done training, I’ll be teaching, so ill need a space to add where my classes will be and what kind of weird shit I’m offering.
Why Barefoot Path? When I was 16 my dad took my brother and me to America; he was worried it would be our last holiday together and decided to go big. We went the Grand Canyon and, as we have always been a walking family, the plan was to walk the Grand Canyon. Not out to skeleton point like the Americans do, but to hop the fence, walk past the “Danger of death” signs, and get all the way to the bottom. Over 20 miles, 8000 feet in elevation and 38 degrees heat and about 15 hours. We followed the South Kaibab Trail and it was - well I was 16, it was really fucking far. Beautiful, life affirming, a memory to last a lifetime, but really fucking far.
I had a lot going on in my life at that time, and I know I could have been more present. I don’t beat myself up about it, I was a kid, there’s only so much you can do and appreciate as a kid. As for remembering it, I only have maybe 4 or 5 really clear memories. This particular memory was of a long path, the whole path was made with thick, heavy orange shale, it looked like a flint knives. A man walked towards us, he must have only been 30, long blond dreadlocks were bunched on top of his head and he was wearing just some Karki shorts. No shirt, no hat, and most importantly, no shoes. I remember stopping and watching him walk past me like a normal kid looking at a monster truck. This man to me was the coolest fucking thing I had ever seen in my life, and as he crunched though the shale past me, miles away from to top of the Grand Canyon, no shoes, no backpack. The dirt was up to his ankles, and his feet were orange. His soles must have been like leather, and I remember vividly wanting it for myself. So, so much. I carried that image into my life moving forward. The Barefoot Path. Something to aspire towards.
In the same way that reading just the right book at the right moment in your life can change a person's destiny, seeing that guy crunch through the stones without so much as flinching changed mine forever.
I walk in bare feet as often as I can; my soles, too, are like leather. I’ve walked mountains, fields and rivers with no shoes. It will be something I do as often as I can till I’m old and unable to walk. I walk the Barefoot Path like those who came before me, and now I take its name for my practices moving forward.
It started with bare feet on the ground, sure, but it led to a life of experiences and introduced me to myself in a million different ways, and these are the things I like to write about.
So this is me, I'm Barefoot Path. You’ll find my writing, my learning and eventually my teaching here.