My good friend Sariaya Charles blogged about my recent event Love In Action: Hug Someone, so I decided to share.
So last Wednesday my friend Stephanie…a.k.a Barefoot Contessa (not to be confused with Food Network’s Ina Garten) organized an event aptly coined Love in Action: Hug Someone, with a mission of spreading love to just about any and everyone. * August 17 marks the day of Marcus Garvey’s Earthstrong, a day that the Bob Marley Foundation has designated to spread love through its one love movement.Through Facebook, she was able to rally her troops to the Brian Lara Promenade in the capital city of Port of Spain where posters reading “Free Hugs” and the like were made, and of course, where the hugs were given. I don’t know the profile of all the huggers who came out, but I think I’m at least partially correct by saying the majority were all friends of Stephanie. Some were friends of friends and there were even a few strangers who joined in on the hugging fun!
Since free hugs were the order of the day, every effort to hug a passer-by was made. No one was spared or avoided. Those hugged included men, women, teens, children, the employed, the unemployed, the sane, the questionably sane, the clean, the not so clean and the list goes on.
Needless to say, the most interesting thing was how people responded to the event.
People's reactions to the question 'would you like a hug?' was for the most part met with confusion and to a much lesser degree, a hint of disdain or even disgust. Nevertheless many people welcomed the hugs especially when they understood the mission of the event. Some gladly took hugs, from several persons too without caring what the purpose was. Some kept their distances and refused to have their personal space invaded while still managing to smile pleasantly. Quite a few were curious and ventured closer to satisfy their curiosity even taking a hug in the process. A few even lingered around longer than was necessary.
One guy who refused to be hugged said "I feel good to know dat young people doing something positive like dis, especially in dese times". Did I mention he did not want a free hug?
I happened to be one of the persons giving hugs and felt particularly blessed to be part of the event.
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Originally posted on SAISBROWNIANMOTIONPeople's reactions to the question 'would you like a hug?' was for the most part met with confusion and to a much lesser degree, a hint of disdain or even disgust. Nevertheless many people welcomed the hugs especially when they understood the mission of the event. Some gladly took hugs, from several persons too without caring what the purpose was. Some kept their distances and refused to have their personal space invaded while still managing to smile pleasantly. Quite a few were curious and ventured closer to satisfy their curiosity even taking a hug in the process. A few even lingered around longer than was necessary.
One guy who refused to be hugged said "I feel good to know dat young people doing something positive like dis, especially in dese times". Did I mention he did not want a free hug?
I happened to be one of the persons giving hugs and felt particularly blessed to be part of the event.
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