Hi Folks:
Well, this being our 7th year of hugging Victorians (and anyone else who’s interested), we decided to update our FREE HUGS posters. The old ones have served us well, but they’re definitely showing their age. At the risk of overstating the obvious, all you need to make a poster is a pen or a marker and something flat enough to write on… but as the saying goes, “The Walk is Part of the Gift“. To that end, we wanted to put some effort into our new posters.
Hi Folks! This is our (drum roll…) seventh year of hugging Victorians and everyone else who wanders by and wants one! We still remember how terrified we were on our first hugging adventure, and how enervated we are now when the opportunity presents itself. We didn’t have as many opportunities last year as we would have liked, but in 2014 we hugged people from 41 countries (that we know about). We wanted to get a jump on things this year, and since we’ve been having such lovely weather lately, we went out on our earliest ever Hugging session on April 2. Well, we hugged people from Victoria and other places on the island, people from mainland BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. We hugged neighbours from Washington and Montana, and neighbours from as far away as South Carolina. And we hugged people from Brazil, Chile, China, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Romania, Thailand and Vietnam. Thirteen countries so far, and that’s only our first outing!
Hi Folks:
We recently came across the following article, and as avid huggers ourselves we just had to share it with you! One of Mike’s old friends had never been hugged by her father for her entire life, well, until Mike came along… 🙂 It wasn’t about love; that was obvious. It was simply that he’d grown up in a time and in a world where he was never taught how – even more, that it was okay. Now, there are a number of different ways to hug, from the back to front hug to the running hug to… but the basic instructions are simple. Open your arms, and invite someone to walk into them. Close your arms around them. Share the moment. Repeat.
Hug School for Dads (click on the image to read the article)
Remember to hug the ones you love today, or a stranger, or, preferably, both!
Hugs,
M&M
Too good not to share. Hug someone you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!!
#HugACop in Newark, DE
(click the image to see the video)
Sending Hugs from Victoria to Newark, and to anyone else who wants one!!
M&M
Hi Folks:
Okay, we’ll admit it. We’d heard the rumours, of course… spotted people converging in the area… we’d even overheard the conspiratorial whispers of those who claimed to have glimpsed a sighting. We’ve done the research, read the news reports and arranged our own observations with great anticipation, all for naught. Until yesterday. We can now confirm the truth, and we have incontrovertible proof! Victoria has (yet) another ‘Free Hugs’ person!
Hugging James Bay
Who is this (unmasked) woman you ask? Well, you’ll have to wait and ask her yourself. We can tell you, by her own admission, that she comes out to James Bay Square at least once a month, so you’ll have to be patient if you don’t see her on your first foray. She shares great hugs, so your efforts will be well rewarded!
Hugs,
M&M
Hi Folks:
Last Thursday was our ninth hugging session this year. So far this year we’ve hugged people from 41 countries (that we know about): Australia, Austria, Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Columbia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, the US, Venezuela, Vietnam and Wales – and we always welcome more!
Hugging Victoria!
Thursday was special in another way, however, because after our hugging session we headed over to Open Space to meet hitchBOT!
Hello, Dear Readers!
Marcia here. I’ve been having a delicious conversation – in poems – with a friend and I wanted to share one segment of that with you! Enjoy!
wiggles & jiggles & giggles galore
laughed ever so hard & still wanted more
so in order to keep the momentum flowing
i thought to record what i thought to be knowing
as i reached for a pen something soft i did touch
it startled me ever so, ever so, ever so much
that i started to giggle all over again
realizing where i was now & where i had been
my feet had been planted quite firm on the earth
yet with all of our banter, camaraderie, mirth
bubbles of giggles expanded inside
and with highest vibrations taken me for a ridewith my head in the clouds and my toes in the seawhat touched me was water, yes water! you seeand i know that you know what i know to be true’cause we live magic lives, we decidedly dothe water of life fills our glorious cupfor you see we are blessed in the world of UP
Hi Folks:
On September 2, 2012 there was an article by Elizabeth Day in the Guardian Observer about ‘Juan Mann’ – a pseudonym for the man who started the ‘Free Hugs‘ movement in New Zealand. There were 42 comments to the article (including ours), and comments are now closed, but in reading through the comments they seemed to be polarized between those who had participated in sharing free hugs and those who were adverse to the idea. While Marcia and I would never try to take someone beyond their comfort level (we wait for people to come to us and those who aren’t interested get a smile and a wave) it seemed to me that those who were repulsed by the idea spoke up for one of a couple of reasons. I thought I’d explore those reasons here, and as always, others are welcome to join the conversation! Continue Reading →
Hi Folks:
Last night Marcia and I were down at ‘The Well’ on Fort Street for the semi-finals of ‘The Spirit of Canada‘ – Poetry, Spoken Word and Singers/Songwriters’ Contest. Our friend Sheila was reading poetry in the event and has moved on to the finals on August 6!! All of the poems and songs were to incorporate Canadian culture, politics, landscape and/or humour, and there was some excellent talent there. Listening to the various performers, however, got me thinking about what it means to be Canadian, and I was reminded of a story shared with Marcia and me some years ago. I think it captures the essence of Canada in many ways. I was going to write it out for this post, then remembered that I’d already done so a couple of years ago. Here once again, then, is ‘Telling Tales‘.
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. If you’re in Victoria on August 6, be sure to come by The Well for the final presentations!
