Praying With My Feet

by Jenny Block

Some people pray with their hands. I pray with my feet. When I walk, I pray. When I dance, I pray. When I swing my feet over the side of the bed and stand up to start a new day, I pray. I pray with my feet, because they stand for everything I pray for.

I pray that I will be able to dance until the day I leave this earth. And so I dance. I pray that I am able help those around me. And so I run to their aid. I pray that I’ll be able to help my daughter grow into the woman I know she can be. And so I stand by her side.

I pray with my feet because they touch the earth. I think we forget. I know I do. We are an extension of the earth. But we spend too much time reaching for the sky. The sky, we cannot touch. But the earth…that we can. And we should. When we don’t touch the earth, when we don’t pray with our feet, we forget.

I pray with my feet because we have forgotten that we have them. We drive everywhere we need to go. We valet. We park as close as we can to our destination. We wear shoes that cover and crowd our feet. And we forget them. We forget that they are what keep us standing up, moving forward, reaching the places we want to go.

I pray with my feet because they are the hardest workers I know. My feet never say no. Even when I walk 60 miles in three days to fund breast cancer research. Even when I train for my Nia belts and dance all day long. Even when I walk the long lengths of beach that I have the good fortune to visit. Even when I cage them in shoes and boots when they’d prefer to be able to wiggle their toes and stretch their arches and feel exactly what’s beneath them. They never, ever say no.

I pray with my feet because not everyone can. Some can’t walk. Some have no place to go. Some are afraid. And for them I pray with my feet because I can and so I should. And so I do.

I remind myself when I walk or hop or dance or hoop or skip or hike that there are some things you should do if for no other reason then because you can. Because what if tomorrow, you can’t…

I pray with my feet because they are clear. My head gets confused. My heart gets confused. My soul gets confused. But my feet, even when they fall asleep beneath me when I sit on them for too long, they always remember. My feet remember that we have places to go and people to see and things to do. And they remember to give thanks and ask forgiveness and to do good.

And so I have evolved the way I pray and I have progressed from the top of my body to the bottom.

And so today, every day, I pray with my feet.

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Jenny Block is a freelance writer and the author of “Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage” (2008 Lambda Literary Award). Among other gigs, she writes a weekly sex column for FoxNews.com.  Jenny holds a BA and MA in English and taught college composition for ten years. For more on Jenny, visit her website at www.jennyonthepage.com.