Biophilia, Beauty, and the Best Travel Shoes for Summer

There are no words to describe how I feel about sunshine and summer. Well, actually, maybe there is actually one. Biophilia. Have you heard about it? The theory behind biophilia is that on a molecular level, we are all made up of the same components as nature itself. That is why when we're outdoors, we feel deeply happy and euphoric. In that moment, we're supposedly in complete revelry of that subtle connection with all that is alive, which also happens to be both inside and outside of our bodies - simultaneously!

I am ecstatic that spring is finally here! The days are getting longer and warmer and life is awakening. Spring also signals the start of the travel season for me which leads me to write about the scavenger hunt for the perfect spring/summer travel shoe.

For a long time, I've had the suspicion that all shoemakers are on a deliberate conspiracy to deny women of having it all. Fashion and function? No such thing. Cannot be done. It's as though women asked to be uncomfortable.

That would explain why I'm stoked beyond belief that I have actually found what might be the perfect travel shoe that meets at that rare junction of style and substance, form and function. I found these Clarks Caslynn Shae wedges and the first time I tried them on, I knew this pair and I were going to go on many adventures together all over the world.

And we have! I wore them all day wandering the food markets of Singapore last fall in search for the best chicken rice. They're my wine tasting shoes in Sonoma. And as evidenced by the photos, they're the perfect frolic (or picnic) shoes. The footbed of the shoe has so much cush, I am in utter disbelief that a two-inch cork wedge could provide so much comfort and stability.

But I cannot just let this post go as just a post about the best summer travel shoes. Because maybe the message is also that tomboys clean up well. That women who spend full days outdoors are not less feminine than those who don't. Maybe the message is also that women in general are not linear and that notion that you'd have to pick between either feminine or tomboy is absurd because maybe those who don't feel compelled to choose either one, and decide to be both instead, have the most fun!

Maybe the message is that the outdoors is also a place for beautiful, strong women who accomplish things, who climb walls and mountains, who run and hike, who do squats and planks. And maybe the message is that being outside, dosing up on Vitamin D, strolling at the park, taking a book outside, or dining al fresco, beats staying in any day.

And finally, perhaps the resonating message is that I want to inspire all of you to be biophiliacs yourselves and that to get awfully high and happy, sometimes, one doesn't really need to do much but to step outside into the sunshine.

| Clarks Caslynn Shae wedges are available at Clarks' website here. They are also sold at Amazon, Macys, and Nordstrom. |

A Little Sidenote:

In this explosive age of social media, we have become our own publishers, our own publicists. We are enabled and challenged to speak up and to speak loudly. The voice I choose is one of empowerment to be in hot pursuit of one’s giddiness in the form of whatever latent creative outlets you might possess.

I am thrilled to have worked with a very talented photographer, Jenny Sinocruz, whose passion, creative energy and talent translates to her photography. It was a delicious experience to be creating and co-creating with Jenny and to wallow in that space of potent creative energy is amazing!

All the photography in this post are hers. All are shot in natural lighting and are posted in raw format – practically zero editing. I've never worked on anything like this before and it was such a delight that we're doing it again! An unintended (but welcome!) consequence of this shoot was at one point, we felt like we were channeling Monet. At least that’s how we felt!

All photos shot on location at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, NV.

#travel #welcome