Your kids may do this all the time but do you ever kick off your shoes and run barefoot through the grass?

I am very anti-shoe (yes, I am a barefoot hippie-neo-hippie actually, I am very into hygiene).

Being outside without shoes can feel to some like going about naked. There are people who never walk around outside without shoes. Gasp! Yes, I know, horrible isn’t it? How can you connect, really connect to Mother earth without feeling her beneath your bare feet?

I love feeling the grass tickle my feet. I even love feeling sand between my toes more but I don’t live close to a beach. So I settle with being barefoot in the grass. You should try it, it is a lot of fun. My three year old never waits for shoes he just runs about barefoot like a true country boy. It’s so cute. He doesn’t even have trouble walking over our rocky driveway. Amazing.

There are so many little joys in life that don’t cost a penny. Too often when times are tough we focus on the fact that things are so bad and that we have no money to go do fun things.

Forget money, worry about your troubles some other time and go outside. Let Mother Nature nourish your soul and carry your worries away on the wind. If you don’t have a beautiful backyard that is gloriously filled with natural wonder head to the nearest park and just chill.

Just being outside in the fresh air can do wonders for you. The kinks in your neck can disappear. The weariness in your body are gone. And your mood can elevate substantially.

After a long day of sitting at my computer typing I go outside. I play with my kids, I work in the garden, I take a walk, I kick my shoes off and sit on my swing. I love my yard. It is one reason I stay here in the Flint area even when everything else sucks so bad around here. I sit in my yard and none of that matters. I don;t look at the road. I face the vast expanse of woods behind me and just relax into the natural setting.

Taking time to connect with nature makes me a better person. What can it do for you? Try it sometime, you may be surprised.

[This post was written by Wenona Napolitano.]