There was a fashion a little while ago to offer free hugs. I guess
it was a reaction against the sense of isolation that so many feel these days.
I remember seeing someone with a sign offering 'free hugs' as I was walking
through Birmingham city centre one day.
I was reminded of that recently when reading Padraig
O'Tuama's inspiring and challenging book "In the Shelter". In the
book O'Tuama gently reflects on some of the key ways in which we engage with
life. He points out some of the many questions that we ought to be considering.
Life is full of questions with which we should engage.
However, I think that possibly my favourite little section
of this book is a paragraph about hugging. O'Tuama writes: The Ireland I grew
up in was not an Ireland that knew much about hugging. Maybe it was
particularly true for Irish boys; I don't know whether it was different for
girls. One Irish way of saying 'hug' is duine a theannadh le do chroi - to
squeeze somebody with your heart. It's lovely but I never knew it. That first
time I was asked for a hug and I got one - even though I didn't know I had one
to either give or take - I found myself thinking 'So this is what arms are
for'.
Who might you squeeze with your heart?
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