the Seems Like God blog,
by David Keating

Gimme a Hug

April 19, 2008

     The very first sermon that a friend of mine wrote was about hugs. I think it must have went over well. At least, she eventually started delivering a sermon pretty much every week.

What she asked was simple. That everyone just reach out and give someone else a hug. Not worry about theology or political correctness. Just take this one simple action; an acknowledgement that we're fellow human beings and that all that's needed to make the world right, if only for a moment or two, is the touch of another human being.

Hugs are such simple things aren't they? We don't have to buy batteries for them, they don't damage the environment and they aren't fattening.

And yet the results can be so spectacular. If we could figure out how to convert the energy generated by a hug into electricity or gasoline, our energy problems would be solved.

I knew a couple who raised their children with a "no touching" rule. They weren't allowed to touch other children and other children were discouraged from touching them. Now, if your definition of a hug is a half-nelson or a scissor lock, I can perhaps understand the caution. But in general human beings need contact with one another. I remember someone studying hugs some years ago who claimed that we needed eight hugs a day for good health.

That's one reason why, even though they have an important role to play, "virtual" communities will never replace the real thing.

Now, I'm not ignoring the reality that we need to be aware of "inappropriate touching". I just think that we may have allowed ourselves to get a little overly sensitive in this department. We have to make sure that we don’t throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater.

The weekend of July 6 and 7 will mark the second annual International Free Hugs Day. A few years ago in Australia, a fellow named Juan Mann started the Free Hugs Campaign. He just took a piece of cardboard, wrote the words "Free Hugs" on it, and stood in a public place offering to hug anyone who felt they needed a bit of human contact.

According to his website, the first person to take him up on the offer was a woman whose dog had died that morning. The day just happened to coincide with the anniversary of the death of her daughter. This woman definitely needed a hug. The rest, as they say, is history. The Campaign has grown into an international phenomenon. Mann has been on Oprah. What more needs to be said?

International Free Hugs Day is only a little over two months away. I'm not aware of any planned Hugging Events. If you are, please let me know. I'd like to issue an invitation. Call it a challenge if you like. Let's see how many communities we can involve in International Free Hugs Day.

If you're in a church, talk to your youth group, your outreach committee, your congregation. In a group like the Scouts, Guides, 4H? Talk to your members. A school? Talk to your teachers, or your students. Part of a seniors group? Become a free hugs activist.

The Free Hugs Campaign website even has a guide for creating a Free Hugs event.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be part of an event that took place simultaneously across a whole community? The country? Remember Earth Hour? Why not coordinate our efforts? If you like the idea and think its something you want to get involved in, send me an email. I'd be happy to act as a clearing house to connect us all together.

Let's get out there and give away some hugs!

David Keating