Walking barefoot in the hills

 

Recently, I picked up a hobby that helps me stay healthy and appreciate nature's beauty: walking barefoot in the hills overlooking the sea in the early morning. Walking up the hill alongside the ocean here in Busan always gives me profound satisfaction. The horizon is trimmed with the red lining of the rising sun. Fluffy clouds depict a variety of objects: lambs, castles and bears. In the distance, a woman diver jumps into the water. Her yellow ball bounces on the surface. I count to see how long she stays underwater. She doesn't surface for such a long time that I worry about her until finally, she turns up with the high-pitched sound of a whistle.

I walk up again until I meet the pine trees. Between leafy wild plants lies a tortuous path littered with fallen pine needles. I take off my shoes and start to walk barefoot. Pleasant coolness spreads from the bottom of my feet up to my head. Pine needles sting my feet like an acupuncture treatment.

After barefoot walking, I enjoy a sound sleep every night. There has been a lot of scientific research that supports the benefits of walking barefoot. According to medical experts, it restores the natural gait we lose by wearing shoes, improves balance, strengthens the muscles and alleviates inflammation, among other benefits.

I am happiest walking barefoot early in the morning through dense pine trees in a sanctuary that no one can intrude upon. This remote mountain path is known only to a few local residents, and few, if any, visit this path in the early morning. Walking carefully to avoid stones rooted on the path, I encountered a big web spun last night. A miserable dragonfly is already trapped. The spinner of the web must be hiding, secretly waiting for more prey. I am too big for his web, so I bend down so as not to break this extraordinary artifact.

Continuing for a while along the curved path through the thick trees, I confront two stray dogs coming along in the opposite direction. The dogs seem to be as shocked as I am at this unexpected encounter. As our eyes meet, the white dogs yield the path to me and disappear into the bush. I was a little scared and am grateful to them for making way for me. Eeven though they were possibly abandoned by a cruel human owner, they showed such courtesy to me. I am somehow ashamed of the thought that we humans are worse than animals. Perhaps the peaceful environment that early morning nature offers has made them generous.

Absorbed in such a contemplation, I enter the path leading to the camellia trees. The trees are so dense that I feel as if I am walking in a fantasy world where dozens of lights, which have penetrated the leaves, softly shine on all the newly awakened beings. Feeling ecstatic, I spontaneously utter, "Thank you, God," for this beauty. Dew from the leaves washes over me and awakens my soul. A wild crow folds its wings and scurries along the grassy path as if beckoning me to follow. It must be one of the flocks that caws at me whenever I enter the forest. In this early morning, all nature: pines, wild plants, camellias, stray dogs, wild crows and spiders befriend me. Once back down, I am so refreshed and energized that I feel 10 years younger and know that mental and bodily health is a gift derived from a simple barefoot stroll.

Lee Eung-tae (eungtae@gmail.com) is a former high school teacher who taught English for 35 years.