Free Hugs

I watched this video yesterday evening and it seemed damned silly at first. However, it kept me thinking: hardly ever are we conscious of the importance of hugging in our daily lives. We go in for a hug when we are sad or when the other is sad, when we win a match or when we lose it, after fighting with a friend or after making one. We hug to communicate, to share, to trust, to give support, to receive support, to greet, or just to make your presence felt. We hug as a sign of deep happiness or deep sadness, or empathy, or pity at times, or anxiety, or love. We hug constantly our friends, our relatives, our pet, even our stuff. We hug people we know but we sometimes hug strangers, as well. We need hugging. We love hugging. And we must have an inner "hugger" somewhere inside. Hugs just make us feel good, and better, and more comfortable, and alive. So “what’s in a hug?”

Hugs have always been a demonstration of affection and emotional warmth. It has been proved that we give hugs because we NEED them: we need hugging to feel human contact and to express feelings to others, namely we hug to share what’s going on in their inner selves. It is true tough, that we are living in a world where time is not enough for anything: not for singing, not for laughing, not for enjoying, not for hugging. But we always find the way to express our intense emotions one way or another.

And this issue of hugs leads us to turn our attention to the matter of affection itself, in whatever way we express it. We sometimes take affections for granted. But have we ever considered what these feelings of liking and love imply? I am considering it right now. Being affective towards other people generates a pleasant atmosphere of trust, closeness and comfort, in whatever context we can imagine. Picture the face of our students when we receive them grinning from ear to ear and greeting them with open arms.

That is the key of helping others feel comfortable, willing to be there, no matter where that “there” might be, anxious to share, participate, learn, and be affectionate themselves, as well: feeling affection, displaying affection, holding others in great affection. And there is nothing more deeply satisfying than receiving affection in return.