January 21: World Hug Day

Let's just get this out of the way right now - I'm reasonably convinced my coworkers have come to believe I'm a lunatic.  I did not, however, force hug anyone in the office.  Justin and I both decided that the spirit of the holiday was more along the lines of "offer hugs to those who want them" than "hug everyone whether they like it or not".

Pictured: me in every single meeting today.

We both, instead, adopted a policy of free hugs for those who want them.  Justin did not have any takers, but then, if a guy walked up to you at the store and offered you a free hug, would you take him up on it?  Remembering that we're not living on or near a college campus and therefore you are unlikely to be on any kind of mind altering substance that would make you feel huggy?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

I also had very few takers.  One coworker saw me writing the holiday information up on a public message board so I got my first hug of the day.  Another was just as, if not more, into the holiday than me and, having hugged her dogs before coming to work (AMAZING), she gave me a hug before I got to my office.

Then it was calm for a while.  I offered, in a non-confronting kind of way, to various coworkers who I ran into over the course of the day.  A few took me up on it - most gave a kind of awkward "thanks but no thanks" kind of response.  

Yeah, we all know what you meant.

I had a several hour meeting with an outside vendor in the afternoon and I contemplated (and even mentioned to my boss) the possibility of offering each of our business partners hugs.  I decided against it because, in short, I like my job and would like to keep it.  Ever tell your boss something and see a smile and a laugh behind which obviously lies a voice screaming "you better be kidding right now - see how I'm laughing at your funny joke"?  It's kinda neat.  And also, I would never attempt to hug vendors in a business meeting because, again, I like my job.

When I got back from the meeting I found out hug day had spurred a lovely conversation among my coworkers about how wonderful hugs are......... for other people.  Best observation: "I don't like hugs, but I like people who like hugs".  

Which led me to think about something - it is actually pretty beautiful that we describe the act as "giving a hug", like it is a gift or an offering of some kind.  And that makes sense - when someone is sad, a hug comforts them.  When someone is happy, a hug shares their joy.  When someone is tired, a hug can feel restful.  When someone is excited, a hug magnifies it.  There's such a beautiful sense of empathy that hugging someone conveys - whatever they're feeling, another person can join them in that moment.  What a wonderful act it is to give someone a hug and what a beautiful holiday it was to celebrate that gift.