My Free Hugs
On Saturday afternoon I am going to be giving out free hugs at the night market. I came across this video and it just touched me so much. I started looking into it and the more I read the more I felt I had to do this.
Free hugs is a real life story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. And wow did it take off. It has gone global. The effects have been amazing.
In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became unbelievable.
This is his story : I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.
Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.
So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.
And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.
Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.
Why Did it get banned?
Public liability fear and red tape. But its all okay now! Make sure tocheck your local laws before embarking on your Hugathon!
Special Thanks
I would just like to thank Sick Puppies for their incredible song "All the Same " which the free hugs campaign video would have never been the same without.
Free hugs is a real life story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. And wow did it take off. It has gone global. The effects have been amazing.
In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became unbelievable.
This is his story : I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.
Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.
So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.
And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.
Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.
Why Did it get banned?
Public liability fear and red tape. But its all okay now! Make sure tocheck your local laws before embarking on your Hugathon!
Special Thanks
I would just like to thank Sick Puppies for their incredible song "All the Same " which the free hugs campaign video would have never been the same without.
I really need one of those hugs today.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Kim. So many people who need that little bit of love. - Lin
Oh you make me so sad when you say that. I will send you a super big cyber hug - Kim
ReplyDelete