I was in a bad mood earlier this morning.
I was at my daughter's school trying to take care of a few enrollment details (the last two numbers on her ID were reversed which made her unable to use the library and fitness center and we couldn't access her computer records to find out time and date of her new yoga class --i....I was trying to get things done that used to be simple before computers).
technology issues really get me going...in the wrong direction. I was frustrated at being sent all over the school.
My morning was getting used up with minor, irritating problems I was thinking...when..
A young girl in a bright pink shirt stood in front of me in a large hall near the college cafeteria.
The words "Free Hugs" were written in big black letters on a sign that hung from her neck.
"Can I give you a free hug?" she asked politely and stepped forward--hesitantly--but with a wide smile.
"Yes, of course," I replied
Even on a busy Monday morning when I haven't had breakfast and only run my fingers through my hair and no makeup yet (because I didn't think I'd be getting out of the car--just dropping my daughter at school and getting right back home to work), I am the person always talking about Love and Sacred Power.
She hugged me and immediately my energy changed. I relaxed. I smiled. My heart slowed. My attitude changed. I was brought into the present.
"Thank you!" I said, with real gratitude.
"You're welcome," she replied, her eyes sparkled.
I had stopped long enough to get a hug and she was thankful.
I quickly surveyed my hugging friend and two other girls giving out free hugs. It must have been some kind of school project.
A fresh pink blush highlighted the hugging girl's cheeks. Their eyes were bright. They were kind of dance walking (as if energy percolating within compelled them to dance or skip to be in rhythm with their feelings) to the few people venturing in close enough to be approached. The girls were excited! Love was streaming through them. "Hugs" I thought. It's the hugs.
Conversely, I thought, as I walked on, the many students hooked up to Ipods and cell phones and other electronic devices (who were mostly hovering in corners, slumped in chairs, or bent over cafeteria tables) lacked these same lively and lifelike characteristics. No color in their cheeks, no excitement, no love. Dull and flat. It was sad.
"The electronics are draining their love, their power" I mused. "The ipods are living off these kids" was my next dramatic notion ( I have many dramatic thoughts during the day).
I looked back at the pink-cheeked girls. Several kids who were hooked up to electronics, who were ambling through the hall, shook their heads "no" to requests to share a hug. They didn't even speak or smile. I just guessed they felt they were already "hooked up" to some greater entity or power. They didn't want their world disturbed.
Hugs are SACRED POWER. They connect us to humans, which often also means to God and Love. We are God. We are Love. There is no love inside an Ipod. There is no real power--the kind of power that gives you real happiness and joy and power.
It's an old saying..but hug someone today.
Encourage your teen to feel the Earth, hug a tree, look at the stars, really interact with other humans. This is our Power. Love, when shared, makes you blush pink, your eyes sparkle...and you dance..because that is our natural state of being. We are Dancers in the Universe of Love even in a college hallway on a Monday morning.
Thanks for reminding me girls.
Blessings, Bethesda.
