
Human beings and our hominid ancestors have walked upright for over three million years — mostly barefoot on natural terrain, in a continuing and intimate relationship with the Earth beneath their feet. That relationship fostered the balance and physical agility — rare in contemporary urban society — that allowed them to walk easily across a log over a stream with things balanced on their heads. It also fostered a deep enduring sense of self, and an accompanying deep sense of psychological and even spiritual security.