UrsLife

My family has always been one where we hug and kiss each other before we part ways. We quite often do the same when we first meet up, as well. Over the years, I have started hugging non-family members more. It is always a comforting thought to think that the last thing that I did the last time that I saw my now departed friend Matt was hug him. He jumped on his bike and drove away. I say all of this to say that I know and understand the power of human touch.

When I was looking up stress relief tactics recently, as I often do, I ran across a video about cuddle parties on a news site. While the idea sounded interesting, after watching the video of an actual cuddle party, I have to say that the idea of getting that physical with complete strangers did not settle well with me. Here are a few related videos:

I guess that I could see how this might be useful for someone that does not have a family like mine or who really does not have anyone around to hug. I can imagine that going for days without being touched can have a negative effect on a person.

Let me get real. I can go for days at a time without being touched by another human being and often do. It is not uncommon for me to go days without having any human interaction whatsoever (face-to-face or digital), and it definitely can take a toll on you. Still, the cuddle parties seemed a little too touchy-feely for me. Plus, it is thirty dollars!

Maybe that is one problem with our country, in general. We have such large personal space boxes. I have had people jump back from a simple hand on a shoulder, and do not get me started about limp, quick handshakes. Why even bother shaking my hand? Then again, what can you expect in a society where any touch can be construed as act of sexual harassment.

Since cuddle parties are your choice to attend and have rules, which include asking to touch someone before touching them, I guess fear and allegations of sexual harassment are not an issue. Nevertheless, I think that I will have to pass. However, for those of you who are still interested, you can learn more about cuddle parties here.

Tags: Cuddle, Cuddle Party, Family, Hug, Hugging, Hugs, Human Touch, Musings, stress, stress relief, Thoughts, Touch

This entry was posted by Ursula on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Family, Life, Musings, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.