Many things I grew up being taught turned out to be backwards. Like the fear of dirt my mom instilled in me. I never actually feared dirt like I did monsters in the dark, but her binary way of treating dirt as something filthy like feces meant that I categorized a lot of the outdoors as something I wasn't supposed to be around. Or at least keep my distance to.
Another thing I remember believing was that dogs were dirty. One time while we were at a highway reststop a beautiful, full grown, golden retriever appeared. At the time I was a little kid... loved canines... so I went to pet it and hug it. When I tried getting into our car my mom made me go back into the reststop to wash my hands.
Later on my mind would get blown when I went to live with
The Shooks
because they would hang out with their dog and even be eating while petting them! I guess in my head this was similar to touching poop and eating... not equal but similar. This took a little while for me to get used to.
But nowadays after spending much more time around dogs, thanks to the my girlfriend's family and also the odd pet sitting gigs she used to have, I'm a convert. I don't consider dogs dirty and I'm willing to sit on a couch with them and hug them and not have to wash my hands right after every time.
I thought of this because I was reading therealbrandonwilson's newsletter about getting grounded.
grounding
is an actual thing people should do ASAP when they wake up. You want to touch yourself to the earth physically. One of the ways is just to walk outside barefoot.
Ever since I was a kid, I never liked walking around barefoot outside. It’s one thing to walk in the grass, where the most you have to worry about is a stick or some dog poop. But walking on gravel or the sidewalk or out in the street—no thanks! I have reacted with mild disgust when I see kids running around barefoot outside seemingly without a care in the world.
It's the simple things! I've warmed up to the idea of walking in grass, but I still don't prefer walking barefoot on the sidewalk or in the road. Especially when it hits 115 degrees as it will today.
I relate to this Sir Abe - I haven't converted yet. Most Ethiopians don't have dogs as pets back home... at least when I was there. And dogs aren't allowed indoors either. So the idea that they are allowed to be on a couch or bed is a foreign idea to me. As of now, no one I know has a dog for a pet so I haven't had the opportunity to convert.
therealbrandonwilson
