I’ve heard it said before, that the shrinking of the world began in the 1400’s.  Once Christopher Columbus, Leif Erickson, and other explorers began to tame the oceans, the world began to get smaller.  No longer was staying in your town the only option. You could spend some sheckles, get on a ship, and go to a new world.  You might not get there…Pirates, disease, and the mighty grip of the ocean were always cards to be played, but your life was not restricted to your walking capability and you could now meet new people.

The shrinking of the world continued and accelerated.  The train was the next step, followed by the automobile, with an airplane, or two, splashed in there as well.  Communication evolved.  The telephone was a break through, and then computers, cell phones, computer cell phones, which are now dubbed ‘smart phones,’ and I can’t wait for the super duper smart phone as the evolution continues.  We have social networking websites and video conferencing.  Heck, one does not even need to leave their home to go food shopping! A far off cry from the 1400’s to say the least.  Today’s world is now very, very tiny.

It’s come a long way since the only people we knew were the ones that were in our physical area.  Plus, due to the world becoming so small, people hardly interact anymore.  It’s easier, and less controversial, to just keep your head down and walk on by.  It’s extremely easier to be courageous on your keyboard than in a face to face meeting.  Conversing face to face has been becoming a lost art for some time now, while through Twitter, today, we can air our grievances without any fear of challenge or retribution.  A good portion of us have become the Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain, flexing our muscles in an imaginary world, always with the fear, whether we know it or not, that we will be exposed.

I know, I know, dear reader; you are thinking that this is kind of a bummer article.  I’m sure the last thing you wanted to read was a small dissertation on the price we paid for certain technological advances. However, do not fear, I do have a mini solution.  It came upon me the second day I ever wore my Vibrams.  Being a large, slightly imposing man, I was shocked to find that almost everywhere I went, I was engaged by strangers.  “What are those shoes?”,  “Where did you get them?”, “Don’t your feet hurt?”,  “How, on earth, can you run in those?”.  The questions went on and on.

It was like the exoticness of the Vibram FiveFingers snapped people out of their fear, their technological comas if you will, and we were just normal human being again.  It also thrust me into complete sales rep mode for Vibram.  I once had an hour long conversation in a CVS on how the mechanics of running in minimalist footwear made sense, and the cost difference of the Vibrams, in comparison to other shoes, was miniscule at best.  I was connecting with people I didn’t know from anywhere, and all because they looked at my feet and thought, “Wait, what’s he wearing?”

This is a daily event for me.  If I am wearing my FiveFingers, I will be asked questions by some strangers.  It’s a fact of my life, and one that I’m totally ok with.  It got me thinking, too.  What if more and more of us sported these shoes?  Would we continue to re-connect with people?  Could the great FiveFingers break us from our reliance on the microchip and jog us into the sunshine?  Could they allow us to see past our differences?  World Peace?

Umm, well, did I mention they are fun to wear…?