The first thing I do when I get home is take my shoes off and go

“The first thing I do when I get home is take my shoes off and go barefoot.” Thus spoke Jessica Mauboy, the singer whose voice carries both the fire of fame and the humility of home. At first, her words seem simple — an everyday act, a casual ritual after a long day. But beneath their simplicity lies a truth as old as the earth itself: the human soul, weary from its journeys through the noise and expectation of the world, longs to return to its natural ground. To go barefoot is not merely to remove one’s shoes — it is to shed the burdens of pretense, to cast off the armor of performance, and to touch again the living soil of one’s authentic self.

The origin of this quote rests in Mauboy’s deep connection to her roots. Born in Darwin, Australia, and raised within a proud Indigenous family, she carries within her a reverence for the land — for the earth that holds memory, ancestry, and spirit. In her life of travel, lights, and applause, the act of removing her shoes when she returns home is a sacred return, a grounding. It is a gesture of humility and belonging, a silent prayer that says, “Here, I am no longer the performer; I am simply myself.” Her feet on the ground remind her that before the music, before the fame, she was a child of the earth — and that, in truth, she still is.

In saying, “I go barefoot,” Mauboy joins a lineage of ancient wisdom. For the sages of every age have known the sacredness of bare feet. The prophets of the desert removed their sandals before the burning bush; the monks of the East walked shoeless in the temples; the farmers and elders of the old world labored with their soles pressed into the soil, drawing strength from the living earth. To walk barefoot is to be unmasked before creation, to feel once more the pulse of the ground beneath — that quiet heartbeat that connects all things. The ancients taught that the earth is alive, and when the foot touches it, the spirit remembers where it came from.

There is a story told of Mahatma Gandhi, who walked barefoot through the villages of India during his long campaign for freedom. His feet bled from stones and thorns, yet he refused to cover them, saying that to feel the pain of the people, one must walk where they walk, as they walk. His barefoot steps became a symbol of unity, humility, and truth — a reminder that the most powerful soul is the one that does not float above the world, but walks in rhythm with it. In that spirit, Jessica Mauboy’s gesture, though gentle, carries the same truth: the greater one rises, the more necessary it becomes to return to the ground, to remain connected to the source of all strength — the earth beneath one’s feet.

To remove one’s shoes is, in essence, to remove the barriers between the self and the world. In a society that worships speed and spectacle, this act is a rebellion of stillness. When the foot touches the cool floor, or the grass, or the sand, the mind slows, the breath deepens, and the heart remembers simplicity. We live much of our lives in confinement — not only in shoes, but in expectations, in appearances, in constant motion. To go barefoot is to be free again — to feel, to breathe, to belong. It is a small but profound return to balance.

Yet Mauboy’s words also carry another lesson: that home is not only a place, but a state of being. It is where one can finally be unguarded, unadorned, unhurried. The home is the sanctuary where we reclaim our essence after being scattered by the demands of the world. In this sense, taking off one’s shoes becomes a ritual of renewal — a symbolic shedding of the day’s struggles, of masks worn, of weight carried. In that moment, one becomes grounded again, reconnected with what is real. The earth asks for nothing, yet gives everything — peace, steadiness, truth.

The lesson, then, is both simple and sacred: make time to go barefoot. Not merely in body, but in spirit. Step out of the noise and touch the earth that holds you. In your daily journey through chaos and ambition, remember to return to stillness. When you come home — whether it is to your dwelling, your faith, or your inner self — take off the shoes of pride, of busyness, of fear. Let your feet feel the ground. Let your heart feel its roots.

For as Jessica Mauboy teaches through her humble wisdom, to go barefoot is to remember who you are. The world may dress you in titles and crowns, may lift you to dizzying heights — but the soul finds peace only when it returns to the ground. Walk barefoot, and you will rediscover not just the earth beneath you, but the life within you — real, raw, and radiant, like the music of creation itself.