Tag Archives: hugs

Hug School for Dads

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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

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

Hugging James Bay

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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

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

Hugging hitchBOT

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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!

Free Hugs

Hugging Victoria!

Thursday was special in another way, however, because after our hugging session we headed over to Open Space to meet hitchBOT!

Continue Reading →

The Land of ‘Up’

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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 ride
with my head in the clouds and my toes in the sea
what touched me was water, yes water! you see
and i know that you know what i know to be true
’cause we live magic lives, we decidedly do
the water of life fills our glorious cup
for you see we are blessed in the world of UP
In Light and such glorious Laughter!
Sending Rainbow Hugs your way!
Marcia 🙂

Would You Accept a (Free) Hug?

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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 →

The Spirit of Canada

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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!

Remembering Liz…

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Hi Folks:

Seventeen years ago today, on June 16, 1995, Mike’s sister Liz passed away in hospital from acute liver failure.  She was not a candidate for transplant.  She was not yet 39 years old.  The whys and hows of this aren’t important at the moment, because today we want to celebrate her life and not her untimely demise. Continue Reading →

Being Poemed

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Hi Folks:

Our good friend (and amazing poet) Wendy Morton can sometimes be found at the various branches of the Greater Victoria Public Libraries, ‘poeming’ people.  Basically, she engages the individual in conversation for a few minutes and then she writes a poem about him or her.  We caught up with Wendy at the main library downtown on April 28 and had the chance to be ‘poemed’ by her.  We thought we’d share what she wrote about us, with you…

Marcia

Now that I’m retired
I have more time to write,
more time to watch the golden finches
fly from the branches of the cherry trees.
And time to walk
time to be quiet.
I go to art galleries,
go to art walks.
What we love most,
is giving away Free Hugs –
we go down to the inner harbour,
give away hugs to people at random.
I’m learning slam poetry.
I’m learning everything!

Wendy Morton
April 28, 2012

Mike

We live in a world where people are
so afraid of touch.
How can we live without contact?
We went to the inner harbour.
Two guys on standup paddleboards
came up for free hugs, then
paddled off.  Once a guy got hugged,
went back and got his whole family.
We’ve hugged the whole world.
We’ll keep doing it.

Wendy Morton
April 28, 2012

Thank you, Wendy!

Hugs,
M&M

Happy Holidays!

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Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, Everyone! There are a lot of different celebrations this time of year, but they all share the same general ideas… so whether you prefer Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, Solstice or something more personal (the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr is on a different, lunar calendar), we wanted to wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with as much love, joy, peace, adventure, contentment, prosperity and excitement as you can handle!

As a gift, we’d love to share this with you: TEDxSF – Louie Schwartzberg – Gratitude

Thanks so much for dropping by our little corner of the ‘net!

Hugs,
M&M

(P.S.  Thanks to John for the idea for the image at the top!)