feet, the carriers of life

　　good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

　　i would like to tell you about an unusual assignment. i was surprised and amused when our teacher told us our homework was to wash our feet carefully .

　　yeah, washing the feet is such a common daily activity that i’ve never paid much attention to it. my feet had been cooperating and helping each other, nearly always managing to get washed, while i was enjoying my readings. but that night, while i gently touched my feet in the hot water, i realized how nice and cozy bathing my feet could be.

　　deep in my mind, the hands always seemed superior to the feet. people use all sorts of things from soap to moisture cream to protect their hands. the feet become, kind of, neglected, since the feet spend all day long with the ground and dirt, and quite inevitably, get really smelly.

　　as i slowly soaped and rinsed my feet, i was beginning to understand why my teacher launched such a mission. she wanted us to realize that the feet were more helpful than we had ever imagined.

　　surely, the hands are important. however it’s the feet that carry your whole body weight, and everything about your life.

　　the feet carry you, as well as your hopes and dreams, and walk steadily upon the most solid ground, moving forward step by step, upon mountains and down valleys, over the smooth as well as the rough, through the bitterness as well as the joy.

　　as i was washing my feet, i let my mind wander. i felt as if i was on a vast desert. looking around, i saw millions of footprints, large and small, deep and shallow, being the marks of existence, and the traces of life. and there i was, using my own feet, making my own path, towards the oasis of life……

　　thank you.