Hi Folks:
We saw this post on the Random Acts of Kindness website yesterday, and (of course) we had to share it with you!
Click the image to see the article. 🙂
Hugs,
M&M
Category Archives: Random Thoughts
Happy Bearthday!
Hi Folks:
The earth is 4.5 billion years old, and life appeared 3.8 billion years ago. Compress those into one year, and today is life’s bearthday! So, Happy Birthday to us!! Go out and celebrate!!
Holland Point, Dallas Road, Victoria – photo by Marcia
Hugs,
M&M
Now, on Leap Years…🤔
The Five Love Languages
Hi Folks:
At one of our hugging sessions last summer, one person who stopped to speak with us asked if we were familiar with the five love languages. We weren’t, but we were thinking French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish … However, that’s not to what he was referring. Instead, he was referencing the book written by Gary Chapman, “The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts“.
In essence the five love languages are:
- Words of Affirmation
- Acts of Service
- Receiving Gifts
- Quality Time
- Physical Touch
Hugging ticks several of those boxes. 🙂 If you’re interested in learning more about what Gary has to offer, check out the link above!
Hugs,
M&M
It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week!!
Hi Folks:
Yesterday marked the beginning of Random Acts of Kindness week, so of course we went out hugging!! The credit for the saying goes to Anne Herbert, who in 1985 suggested committing “random kindness and senseless acts of beauty†in her book, “Compassion 101.†Since then the idea has taken on a life of its own, but it needs all of us to keep it alive! It need not be difficult or complicated. Kindness is always a good idea! However, if you’re looking for some ideas, be sure to check out the Random Acts of Kindness.org site and their sister site, PassitOn.com. Great stories and resources, including kindness kits for teachers, can also be found at the Ripple Kindness Project site.
Take the opportunity to be kind today! And tomorrow. And… you might just find it growing on you. As for our continuing hugging adventures, so far this year we’ve shared hugs with Ambassadors from 12 countries (this is our 10th year; so far we’ve hugged people from at least 82 countries in total) and yesterday we shared our first hugs with visitors from Canada’s Nunavut territory! They didn’t seem to mind the absence of -50°C temperatures. 🙂
Hugs,
M&M
Hugging 2019… Tempus Fugit!!
Hi Folks:
Believe it or not, we started this post over a month ago, and it’s already February 3rd. So much for our “Welcoming 2019” title! Ah well… Continue Reading →
Happy Holidays!!
Hi Folks:
Whether you celebrate Christmas or Festivus, Solstice or Saturnalia, the arrival of Sinterklaas or Grandfather Frost, Hanukkah, Mawlid Un Nabi, Kwanzaa or something entirely personal, we send you love. Create an amazing 2019!!
(Merry or Happy Christmas In Different Languages 🙂 )
It’s Our Birthday!!
Hi Folks:
M&M’s Musings is nine years old today!! It’s been quite a year for us – more stories, more photographs, more travels, more sharing of free hugs (82 countries and counting!) and much of that has been shared here with you, our readers. Our blog currently has 573 blog posts and 147 pages, including stories, colouring pages and more! In the past year we’ve made Marcia’s books available for sale through our website and in local stores, and we have (to the best of our knowledge) complied with the EU GDPR.
We have many more stories, photographs and free hugs to come in the next year, so thank you for continuing to be here with us! This site is our gift to you, after all.
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. We didn’t actually buy our blog a birthday cake, but Marcia’s birthday is also soon, so maybe she’ll share some of hers… 🙂
Three Seconds of Connection
When we’re out hugging, that’s the very least you’ll get from us. We’ll look you in the eye, smile, wave and offer you a wish for a wonderful day. What happens next is entirely up to you. You can ignore and walk on by, smile and/or wave back, return our greeting… Or you can engage us and come in for a hug (or two). We really appreciate it when you do. ☺️
Hugs,
M&M
Marcia and Nathalie
Sawatsky Sign-Off: Good News
Hi Folks: If you’ve read our posts you know that this is our 9th year of hugging tourists and locals down at Victoria’s inner harbour, and that so far we’ve hugged ambassadors from at least 77 countries. Outside of that, however, we lead pretty quiet lives … so we were both shocked and delighted to receive a phone call a week ago from Adam Sawatsky, who works with CTV News, Vancouver Island. At the end of their news broadcasts they feature short segments of good news and uplifting people, giving their viewers an opportunity to head into their evenings with a positive outlook. These segments are collectively known as the Sawatsky Sign-Off.
Names That Remain
Hi Folks:
So far this summer we’ve been keeping a pretty regular schedule going out hugging on Sunday afternoons. We’ve now hugged Ambassadors from 77 countries (that we know of); 55 countries this year alone! As we’ve mentioned, we’ve hugged people in sadness and we’ve hugged people in joy and everywhere in between. While we were out again yesterday, the previous Sunday (August 5) brought several things together for us.
The first was a blog post written by author Robert Fulghum, entitled “Names That Remain” (yes, we stole his title for this post). You can read it for yourself; we’ll wait. Continue Reading →