Hugs anyone?

A lot of days the world feels like a pretty melancholy, sad, sick place, full of undeserved hardship and sorrow. On those days, it's hard to feel okay about much at all. Recently I was introduced to the work of Juan Mann, a gentleman from Australia who took his sad day and did something really, really good about it; he started the Free Hugs Campaign.

His story is as follows:

I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.


Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.


So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.


And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.


Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.

And you can see his work in action in this video, with music by Sick Puppies.


Since its beginning, the Campaign has spread -- all over the world. Abrazos gratis. احضان مجانية. Câlins gratuits. フリーハグズ. But the Campaign has not been without tribulation. In some cities it has even been banned (though non-violent resistance in the form of petitions and such have allowed some hugathons to be reinstated). I guess in our day and age it can be hard to believe that someone would be willing to give a hug with the request of nothing in return. Nothing at all. But I think it's pretty wonderful.

If you're interested, check and see if there's a Free Hugs chapter in your city; there's one in mine. And if not, you can still show support. Visit the Free Hugs Campaign website, or friend them on MySpace or Facebook.

If you'd like to see more about the spread of the Free Hugs Campaign and additional things you can do, check out this video.