emilybarnes

Dylan and me weeded my Aunt’s garden today, and cleaned her patio furniture.
I love my Aunt so much, she made us macaroni and cheese and gave us soda pop, even though Dylan’s supposed to be quitting.
I was wearing shorts, a baggie t-shirt, and entirely barefoot (as opposed to halfway barefoot…).

The pebbled pathway felt rough as I walked to the end of her garden.
Putting all my weight on my one foot, my toes curled around their foundation, feeling each, individual stone as I sauntered.
T’was a glorious feeling; I love to be barefoot.
Being barefoot reminds me of being a kid.
As I took a break from my macaroni I glanced next to my Aunt and Uncle’s tree, and to what unexpected end did mine eyes meet other than the most delightful surprise imaginable:
a puddle of mud.
It was squishy and dark and I hesitantly put my foot into it.
Cautiously at first, then deeper went my foot, until I lost all inhibitions and stuck my foot down in that mud and rubbed it all around.
Squishing it between my toes I felt as gleeful as a little girl still in pigtails.

Feeling the earth beneath my feet (and not just the squishy earth, but hard, dry, cracking earth) brings me such joy.
It makes me feel innocent.
Putting my foot into that mud brought me freedom, freedom from my worries.
I have this bulletin board in my room and on it, a piece of paper that says “Weekly Thoughts”; today I wrote, “As I go through the day and get things done I feel my burdens fall off me, soon to be replaced.”
Well, as I stuck my foot into the soggy earth I felt a freedom from my replacement burdens.
By sticking my foot in the mud I realized I was letting go of my worries.
I was enjoying putting my foot in that mud and feeling it squish everywhere, and not thinking about my next paper I have to finish or the English project that is due today, or how I was even going to get all that dirt off of my legs and feet.
I simply stuck my foot in the mud and enjoyed the feeling.
It is important to
think less and feel more….of the Spirit.