Arrested for hugging

I know it sounds very 60s, but I can tell you that it’s a great alternative to what I see going on in the world today. Wherever I go today, as a customer, as a supplier, as a fellow human being, I encounter a coldness, an apathy, a sense of resentment, that fills me with despair. If ever I was to be arrested, I’d love it to be for hugging.

Why is it that the world has become such an aloof place? Is it fear? That’s what the experts tell us.

Reach out and serve

It seems that we are so scared of the horrible world that we have become increasingly more isolated from one another. We need to challenge that. The world is not such a terrible place, and the only hope that we have as a human race is to love each other, rather than hate, to reach out and serve, rather than be indifferent.

Some recently published research on happiness came to a number of really magic conclusions about what we can do to become happier in our lives:

1. Count your blessings: Start a “Gratitude Journal” in which you weekly write down three to five things for which you are grateful, from the mundane, to the magnificent.

2. Practice random and systematic acts of kindness: To both friends and strangers. The consequences are very positive.

3. Savour life’s joys: Play close attention to momentary pleasures and wonders. Take “mental photographs” of these for less happy times.

4. Thank a mentor: If there’s someone that you owe a debt of gratitude for their guidance, don’t wait to express your appreciation - in person.

5. Learn to forgive, and to let go of anger and resentment: Write a letter of forgiveness, and get back your peace of mind.

6. Invest time and energy in friends and family: Strong personal relationships are more important than where you live, how much you earn, your job, and even your health.

7. Take care of your body: Get plenty of rest, exercise, stretching, smiling and laughing, and practice these daily.

8. Develop strategies for coping with stress and hardships: You can’t avoid hard times, but you can have a belief system that helps you to cope. Includes religious faith, but also secular beliefs like, “Nothing lasts forever.”
   

Many of you will remember a video of Leo Buscaglia – the so-called “Love Professor.” The video was called Only You can Make the Difference, and it was full of so many wonderful ideas. He was a great proponent of hugging.

Help, not hurt

But one of the things that I remember was a statement he quoted from the Dalai Lama of Tiber. When asked about what is the purpose of life, he replied: “The purpose of life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, would you at least not hurt them?”

Azar Jamine, CEO of Econometrix, a company based in Johannesburg, once made a presentation in which he said: “Business needs to wake up to the fact that just making money is an empty goal without contributing to the betterment of life of your fellow human beings.” I couldn’t agree more.

Hugging is a very important part of my life, and I am very sorry for people who are unable to experience it regularly. I remember once bumping into my brother at a shopping centre somewhere, and, in our usual fashion, we gave each other a big bear hug. A woman was walking past at the time, wheeling a trolley. She took one look at us, was absolutely disgusted, and said: “Blerrie queers!” So this is what the world has become: two brothers showing some affection are accused of being queer.

And the Nanjing huggers? What happened to them? Well, they were all released about an hour later with a warning to not arrange a gathering again without permission, and to stop doing these crazy and depraved things that corrupted society.