Because we all need a hug....

When is the last time you were hugged?

I was sent this video, and it really touched my heart, and got me thinking. The sound is loud, so turn your speakers to a comfortable level.

Free Hugs Video



Read more about this fella, Juan Mann, here: Free Hug man speaks out

On a quest to find out where HE got the idea, I found out that it originated here in the South... more on that below...and I also found a lot of research about how beneficial hugs are to we humans.

Hugs just may be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to stress reduction. Consider this excerpt from a recent USA Today article, Hugs warm the heart, and may protect it

here is an excerpt:

"Cuddling may be good medicine for the heart. A brief hug and 10 minutes of
handholding with a romantic partner greatly reduce the harmful physical
effects of stress, according to a study reported over the weekend at the
American Psychosomatic Society meeting here.
Loving contact before a tough day at work "could carry over and protect you
throughout the day," says psychologist Karen Grewen with the School of
Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.”
“This is the latest of many studies suggesting humans are "hard-wired" to
thrive as social animals, says Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute
at the University of Miami Medical School. Field's research shows touch
lowers output of cortisol, a stress hormone. When cortisol dips, there's a
surge of two "feel good" brain chemicals, serotonin and dopamine.”

Brain chemicals may be the case, but, all I know is that hugging heals. We instinctively embrace someone in pain, whether emotional or physical. There is nothing like the relief of hugging someone you have been worried about, the sweet hug of a child, the embrace of a loved one you haven’t seen in a while.

What about the inspiration for the Australian "Juan Mann"? It was non other than a man from the US, formerly of Miami South Beach, and now in Atlanta, GA, Jason Hunter.




(Jason Hunter, in a rare photograph of him alone, not hugging someone! This was the ONLY alone photograph I could find on his whole website!)

FREE HUGS was inspired by founder Jason Hunter’s mother Mrs. Josephine Clayton Hunter who passed away in 2001. Sitting at his mother’s funeral service, Jason listened as almost every speaker shared how Mrs. Hunter loved hugging people and letting them know how much they matter. Touched by the speakers, Jason acted on this inspiration and walked the streets of his hometown, Miami’s South Beach, with a sign that simply stated “FREE HUGS”. Hence, FREE HUGS was born. Read more about them, here;

Free Hugs

As stated on the website, Research shows that we need at least three hugs a day to grow and become a better person. A hug is a universal symbol of support, concern, or just a way of saying, “I’m here and I matter.” They sell great t-shirts to promote their cause, that say “FREE HUGS we all need one”

Here in my fair adopted city, we have our huggers. The Youth Pastor from the other UMC church in town comes to mind; her “guys and dolls” love her hugs as much as they love her. She shows me through the power of her hugs how much she REALLY CARES about the people that she is talking with, and her hugs make you feel loved. Walk into any restaurant in this city, into any store, and every once in a while you'll witness some serious hugging going on. After church, be warned, my Yankee brothers and sisters, you may get hugged. It may be off putting to some, but to most, it is welcome and encouraged. Because, like the t-shirt says, "we all need one".

That is why people wait in line for hours for a hug from the Indian guru, Amma. Read about her here, Hugging saint is compassion in action

I am reminded of a line from the 2004 movie, “Crash”;

"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know?
You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody
touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think
we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other,
just so we can feel something."

Well, we are certainly not L.A., but we still don’t often brush past each other, either in Wal-Mart or walking along a downtown street shopping. We are polite, we try not to get into each other’s spaces. And that is fine. I certainly appreciate that space from time to time. But, I need a hug some days… and, luckily, I have kids that will indulge me that hug when I ask for it. My friends are all very good at hugging, and I love them all for that. I also work at a very “hug-friendly” church, where it is common for our new minister to hug each person he greets when he arrives to work in the morning. And, being “Jana Banana” to many little friends in our fair city, I get my share of little people hugs a week.

But, I watch others pass my way. Alone. Could they by no fault of their own be raised by a family of non-huggers, or live for years at a time with no hugs at all? And I wonder… what would an invitation to a free hug do for them? Would it be banned by the Police Department? Would it be celebrated as another great thing by the always forward thinking Down Town Development folks?

What about inviting Jason Hunter and his team here to this city, maybe in conjunction with a Walk –a-Thon fundraiser for a worthy charity? I wrote to him via his site, (you can read an excerpt of my e-mail here, HugStories This is one hands-on guy that actually reads and responds to e-mails… here is an excerpt of his reply to me:

Hey Jana!!! Thank you so much for the kind words. I am going to post part of
your email on our "Hugstories" page. I would love to work with you on
planning a Free Hugs day there. That's one of the many things that we do.
And it shouldn't be that hard to work on it, since we are only one state over
from you. Also, thank you so much for writing about us in "Hartsville Today."
You ROCK!!!

We are not connected with Juann Mann, but he did email me once a long
time ago and said that he was going to do what he's doing. So in a way "yeah,"
because we did inspire him to do it. Well, I look forward to hearing from you
and I am so excited about possibly working with you. If you don't mind, please
send us a copy of the article that you will be writing.

Have a awesome rest of the day!!!

Your Friend,

Jason G. Hunter Founder/President Free Hugs LLC

This is my call to readers: if the video, and the website from Atlanta did indeed soften your heart, don’t resist the next time you feel the tiniest urge to hug someone. Your friendly hug may just be what that person needs most in the world, at that moment in time. And, it’s free.

I ordered a shirt, and will be dispensing some Jana Banana hugs soon...and, if you'd like to join me, let's bring some Free Hugs to our towns and cities!