“We hugged, now we’re friends, right?” he asks as he takes my hand and leads me up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.
I’ve never offered Free Hugs at a March before, but decided it might offer the smallest bit of healing at the March for Justice in Washington DC on August 23. It was an impromptu decision. My friend Sarah accompanied me. Honestly, we weren’t sure how to best offer the Hugs. So we simply walked, We walked among thousands of people all searching for the same thing; Healing and Hope.
Free Hugs signs overhead, we walked through the throngs of people. We smiled. Made eye contact. And the response was overwhelming. Hundreds of people accepted hugs as we made our own March in a sea of people winding their way across the Mall. It was heart-expanding to not only share hugs but to hear people’s comments:
“Best sign I’ve seen all day.”
“YES, this is what we need, healing.”
‘You are my sister in another body.”
“Love, this is what it’s all about.”
“MLK would be proud.”
“Thank you, I really needed a Hug today.”
The hugs came from teenage men, grandmothers, fathers, mothers & daughters, police, veterans of the March in 1963, militants, government officials, in short; every age and type. Hugs heal, as simple as that. Simple, but deep. To reach out to someone and embrace them with your arms and heart heals more than people realize.
Maya Angelou says, “As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.”
Let us all go out and Heal somebody else.
Hug from my heart to yours,
Kristin