Rev. Kathi's Message
It is the first day of summer – the day we can only dream of in the grey of November and the whiteouts of February. The sunshine and warmth call us outside to play.
As a kid, I loved being outside, and I hated working in the yard. My job (in those prehistoric times before electric trimmers) was to take a pair of hand clippers and edge everything. I would sit in the grass, lean over and trim around the vegetable garden, the flower gardens, the sidewalk, the shed, the house…you get the idea. It was so boring, and my hand hurt and…it was, well, boring. If I wasn’t trimming, I was offered the job of pulling weeds from the garden. Still boring. I am sure there was lots of eye rolling involved.
In elementary school I remember sitting outside in the grass at every chance I had. The lawn out past the pavement was always packed with kids – kids running, kids playing ball, kids rolling down the low hill (do you remember log rolling down a hill, just because?) After school we kicked off constraining shoes and ran through the neighborhood playing tag or hide and seek or murder ball. Whatever it was, whether enjoyable, or not, we tended to be outside, and…barefoot.
Today I walk on pavement, or in my home or at church. Some of us live in in high rises or our houses have multiple levels, pulling us further and further away from the earth. We rarely, if ever, go barefoot outside. What are we missing? We are missing the skin to dirt connection with the earth’s energy, which energizes us.
There is fascinating research being done on the impact of direct contact of our body with the earth. It is called grounding, or earthing. Research is showing that by having contact with the earth, (by going barefoot or gardening as example) your level of stress is decreased. Since our body is mainly water and minerals, we are a great conductor of electrons. It is thought that the earth’s electrons help balance our bodies and lowers inflammation. And that is very good for our heart health.
I hope you have experienced the joy of a barefoot walk through wet grass or down a sandy beach. That joyous feeling of taking your shoes off and wiggling your toes in the sand. That lowers our emotional and physical stress. And yet, we spend most of life never touching the earth. Google “earthing” or “grounding” to find out more of the amazing science behind “earthing.” Or simply take your shoes off and walk around in the grass. I don’t know about you, but now that the warmer weather is here at last, my shoes are coming off, and my toes will be wiggling.
Kathi
