The Universal Medicine

oh, i forget if i mentioned this already or not, but i decided to drop Holocaust in History. soooo, that means, no classes on Thursdays & Fridays, & my Tuesdays start at 6.30pm! :D sooooo goood!

anyway, to the real point of this post. i don't think it'll be long, but whatever.

HUGS.

hugs are like the best thing anyone can give & maybe even receive. why? 'cuz it almost always makes the person receiving it feel good (unless y'know, they're creeped out 'cuz you don't know who the person is). plus it's universal (i think).

personally, i love hugs. they're awesome. i love giving them, & i love getting them. it's even better when it's a surprise. it's a sign of caring, happiness, love. everyone needs it, everyone wants it.

they're appropriate for almost any occasion:

• when you love someone - hug.
• when you care for someone - hug.
• when you're happy - hug.
• when you miss someone - hug.
• when you haven't seen someone in a while - hug.
• when you're feeling lonely - hug.
• when you're sad - hug.
• when you're crying - hug.
• when you're sick & the person don't care if they catch it - hug.
• when you're saying goodbye - hug.
• when someone dies - hug.

• just because - hug.

next time you see someone you love, hug 'em. almost guaranteed they'll think WTF at first, but they'll still appreciate the gesture.

interesting enough, January 21st is National Hugging Day & December 4 is International Hugging Day!

here are a few quotes pulled from the National Hugging Day page:

"National Hugging Day is a different form of sharing. We've got more than our quota of whiners and far too few huggers these days. Most of us have a little person inside who needs human contact in this stainless steel, computerized society where we are kept at arms length. Consider hugging as non-sexual, like a handshake or a high-five. Such personal contact makes you feel good. A good hug warms relationships between people. That's what National Hugging Day is all about. We're not talking sex here. Part of the problem huggers face is this guarded age where hugs are easily misinterpreted and subject to a leering look or a lawsuit. A hug has a universal meaning of support, concern or just a way of saying, "I'm here.""
~ Chris Thompson, Saginaw News (MI) News Columnist

"We need to know we're cared about... students need that. Most of them hug me back - it's our usual greeting."
~ Rev. James Stein, Premontre H.S., Green Bay, WI

"We encourage hugging. We have grandparents who hug the children who sit on their laps, and our staff people rub the children's backs at nap time to relax them. We didn't want to lose that closeness, even though people felt threatened by the "child abuse" label. I think Hugging Day is a wonderful idea. Every day should be hugging day."
~ Mary Van Heuvel, Director, Green Bay Nursery Program

"Hugs make everyone feel good. It's a way to know that someone cares. The need to be hugged doesn't change when you get older."
~ Barbara Kuehn Schumacher, Mgr., Ft. Howard [Senior] Apartments, Green Bay

"If somebody hugs you, you know you must be there or they'll go through you."
~ Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D., and former author, educator and lecturer on the art of loving

"Touch is life-giving, is healing. Touching really helps human beings. Talking doesn't do a lot for someone who feels rotten, but touch helps alleviate the pain and anguish. We don't lose the need for touch when we stop being babies. We basically need to be touched, although some people do not like to be touched and we have to respect that. A 1950's study of institutionalized children showed that even though the children received good physical care, good nutrition, were fed and changed regularly, they became sickly and psychotic years afterward. They didn't make it. They were never picked up and held. They suffered from a condition that results from the lack of tender, loving care."
~ Rev. Langdon K. Owen, Director, American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry in Green Bay

"For human beings, you need two hugs a day to survive, four hugs for maintenance, six hugs to grow."
~ Virginia Satir, a well known Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapist.

hugs are COOOL! don't you dare diss it! i'll kick you. :D