#004 Wisdom of Blisters, Nervous System Remote + Rewilding Feet
Hey, friends. Welcome to another edition of The Now newsletter.
I’ve just returned from a road trip with my partner, which included a 7-day hike in remote, rugged New Zealand wilderness.
We hiked to the Blue Lake, the clearest freshwater in the world, in Nelson Lakes National Park – one of my favourite places on earth.
Aside from using my phone to take photos and occasionally check the map, it was a total digital detox, which was so refreshing.
We drank pure alpine water, washed in ice cold streams, and walked 171,169 steps across rocks, tree roots, and forest trails.
It sounds like bliss (and it mostly was).
But as you’ll read below, the hike had its challenges.
— Jonathan
One mind-expanding idea: The Wisdom of Blisters 💡
On day two of the aforementioned hike, I developed a blister on my left little toe.
By day three, it was screaming at me with every step.
On day five, it got infected and I was *this* close to giving up and catching a water taxi back to civilisation.
But I decided to continue and hobbled my way through the next two days.
I was so frustrated that this bit of skin on my little toe could cause so much agony.
I love hiking. It’s one of my favourite things to do.
I was surrounded by indescribable beauty.
I was with my favourite person in the world.
Yet, this little, pus-filled blister hijacked my experience and almost made me give up.
It got me thinking…
Where else in my life do I have blisters?
Blisters, as in the little, nagging pains that tempt us to give up on our favourite things, our goals, our dreams.
Your blister could be caused by tight finances. Fear. Overload. Doubt. Lack of time. The options are endless.
It’s important to understand that the blister is peripheral to the experience, it’s not the experience itself, even if it’s all you can feel in the moment.
In my case, it wasn’t the hike, the mountains, the rivers and streams, or the native forest causing my pain.
It was the blister on my left little toe.
And yet, more than a few times I caught myself thinking: “Hiking is painful. It’s too hard. Why do I put myself through this? I’m done.”
But the real reason for my blister was something else entirely.
It was my tight boots (more on this below).
The solution to my pain wasn’t: Give up hiking, one of my favourite things to do.
It was much more simple: Buy new boots.
This epiphany made me wonder…
How often do I let “blisters” stop me from doing things I enjoy, care about, or simply want to do?
What things have I given up in the past because “blisters” made it too uncomfortable?
How are blisters showing up in your life?
It could be a hobby. A project. A business. A relationship. A goal.
It could be the thing that’s most alive for you – the thing you’ve always dreamed of doing.
Up close, it might look like these things are “too much”, too painful.
But if you zoom out, you might see you’re just wearing tight boots.
Change your boots, the blister goes away, and the thing you’re doing feels enjoyable again… as it should.
So, the next time you feel like giving up, remember this:
The difference between continuing on your path, fulfilling your purpose, or living your dream and giving up could be as simple as buying better fitting boots.
One curiosity-igniting link: Nervous System Remote 👀
What if you could alter your internal state with your breath in the same way you switch channels with your TV remote?
That’s the thesis my friend and teacher, Jonny Miller, explores in his latest essay, The Operating Manual for Your Nervous System.
Jonny is a highly-skilled breathwork facilitator and nervous system specialist.
I’ve leaned on him a lot during my own journey of learning about breathwork and my nervous system.
In this article, Jonny provides a comprehensive intro to nervous system regulation and shares simple breathing practices for shifting your state.
I’m convinced this is the most valuable skill you can learn for managing stress, cultivating calm, and rediscovering a sense of safety and connection with yourself and others.
“Luckily, there is a zero-cost solution to this quandary—an always-accessible operating manual for your nervous system that is more effective than any prescription drug, with no unwanted side effects. In fact, it has been under your nose since you were born: your breath.”
One life-altering practice: Rewilding Your Feet 🔥
Back to the blister for a moment.
So, the main reason my boots were too tight on the hike is because I’ve been “rewilding” my feet for the past year or so.
For me, that simply means going barefoot as much as possible and mostly wearing open foot sandals when I need shoes.
I’ve also been doing a few exercises to “free my toes” with the goal of helping my feet return to a more natural state.
I didn’t realise my feet were changing, but the fact that my hiking boots were suddenly far too tight tells me they have.
Why am I doing this?
I think most shoes are designed to squash our feet, not dissimilar to the foot binding practices of young girls in China back in the day.
Our feet have 26 bones, 36 joints, over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments and 200,000 receptors.
They’re designed to support the rest of the body.
Jamming them into unnaturally-shaped shoes causes them to become disfigured and this can have all sorts of consequences for our body and may contribute to injuries (Learn more here).
Also, I think it’s just nicer to feel the ground beneath me.
Therefore, this week’s practice includes a few simple exercises for rewilding your feet.
How to Rewild Your Feet
- Go Barefoot: Ditch your shoes and go barefoot or wear sandals as much as possible (or invest in a pair of barefoot or wide toe shoes).
- Expand Your Toes: Try and expand your toes as far apart as you can and hold for as long you can. Repeat a few times with each foot (Video guide here). This is easy to do when you’re chilling on the couch watching Netflix etc.
- Fingers And Toes: Lace your fingers through your toes and gently rotate your ankle and bend and flex your foot. You might want to use a bit of oil to do this at first as it can be slightly uncomfortable (Video guide here).
I really didn’t intend to talk about feet so much in one newsletter, but if I can convince one person to start reconsidering the purpose of shoes, then it will all be worth it.
That’s it for this week. I wouldn’t usually wish blisters upon my worst enemy, but I kinda hope you discover a few of your own after reading this edition.
As always, thanks for reading.
— Jonathan