Sometimes in life, we just need a hug. No words. No advice. Just a hug, to make you feel like you matter.
Sometimes in life, we just need a hug. No words. No advice. Just a hug, to make you feel like you matter.
When was the last time you really needed a hug?
Why was that? Were you hurting on some level? Did you need reassurance of some kind? Did you want somebody to make you feel loved and appreciated?
A hug is a universal expression that is shared by countless species on planet earth. Have you ever been hugged by something other than a human being? The tenderness of another creature hugging you, is unmistakable and it translates across all language and communication systems.
But why is that? When something or someone wraps their arms around you and embraces you, why is that comforting, as opposed to potentially threatening? Is it the prospect that in a face-to-face hug, the hearts are getting pressed near one another? Or is that entirely metaphorical and has no semblance of influence on the hugging process?
When someone or some thing hold you in their arms is it a re-creation of what we experienced with our parents and does that trigger a sense of comfort and appreciation that is realized through nothing but a hug?
There are many kinds of hugs, from a long, slow, embracing hug in which you can feel the energy of the other person’s body connecting with yours, and for a tiny, brief, second, becoming one. Or the Bro hug, where two guys put their arms around each other and pat each other quickly on the back and let go, or the nice to meet you hug, where you barely put any energy into it and yet it is more potentially warming than a handshake or a straight hello or salutation.
Each of these hugs is a different communication, and yet each of them carry the similarity of being part of the big subset of hug communications.
When people are comfortable with whom they are, their fear of hugging another person reduces considerably. In their security, they do not have fears or trepidation of whether or not, the hug could be potentially misconstrued by the other party, rather, they project an outward confidence which is entirely constructed to reduce the other party’s apprehension, and to increase the comfort of that particular moment.
So the next time you have an opportunity to put your arms around another human being, or animal, recognize that you are using one of the most primal means of communication and make it a great time!
Happy Wednesday!
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