Watchooo Talkin' 'Bout, Willis?

Day 3:  13 Mindful Hugs

I didn't expect to give 13 hugs today.  I wasn't sure I'd even encounter 13 people on a Saturday, but it turns out, there were lots of opportunities to give (and receive) hugs.

Three hugs went to folks at my yoga class this morning and 1 hug at the gym later in the morning.  The remaining 9 hugs occurred this evening at the in-laws' for the annual Memorial Day gathering.

On the way to his family home, my partner of 15 years expressed his skepticism about my Hugging Meditation experiment.  He doesn't understand why I would want to do such a thing.  We had a lively exchange during which he fired off a series of questions that I regret I didn't write down at the time.  Here are a few from memory:

• Do you hug random strangers?
• What if the other person smells bad?
• What about germs?
• What if it's a homeless person?
• Do you have to hug different people every day or can you hug the same people over each day?
• Does it count if you hug a cat? Or a dog?

I don't have the answers to all of his questions, or many of my own questions, for that matter.  I think that is ultimately why I am even attempting this experiment.  I can tell you that the conversation we had on the way to his family home tonight had more depth than some of our recent interactions, so maybe that is part of the lesson I am hoping to learn from all this.

After 3 days of hugging, I have given a total of 33 hugs.  How many hugs have you given in the past 3 days?  How many will you give today?  How many will you give tomorrow?

I am choosing to push skepticism aside.  Hug on, my friends!