One great big hug after another, for one another.......

I am and have always a been a big hugger. It must be the Italian in me (100 percent!). It must also be from being from such a large family. You see every time we all got together, which could be up to several times a week, I went around and gave every single person in the room a bug hug. We all did. Big hugs and big smiles.

When you are allowed and encouraged to express yourself in this very personal way as a child, you find that it becomes second nature through out your adult life. You also find that it becomes a necessity. You feel compelled to give out hugs freely and you in turn accept their warmth in embrace openly.

There is no other feeling that I know of that can replace what a hug does for your mental well being. I cannot completely express all of the emotions that are awakened with the act of hugging, for they are so vast and encompassing. But what I can share is that they release a multitude of endorphins into your system bringing you to a happy place (a peaceful resting stop, if you may).

I write about this subject today, dear reader, for the ones who have not had the opportunity to be given the gift of hugging. By this I mean that they were raised devoid of expressing themselves on this level of connection. To the ones that find it hard to let people get close on a physical level. To those who find it most difficult to let go and wrap their arms around another in a long, warm, and sincere embrace. Not being able to connect on this level and therefore not able to experience the pure comfort and acceptance with such closeness.

When you do not know how to allow others to get close to you in a physical way, in many cases, you also may find that your emotional output is also stunted and that you cannot get as close to people as you might like to because you have not be taught (from infancy/childhood) how to do so. The result is a lack of trust and connectedness to rest of the world around you.

While we innately as humans are born with the desire to feel warmth and comfort, the act of hugging is nurtured into each individual. With much repetition, we associate hugging with feelings of expressing love. These hugging connections are made in the brain at the earliest of developmental stages. Continued exposure to this activity strengthens ones' desire to perform this loving action.

My hope is that you all, dear readers, give and receive as many hugs as possible and if you have difficulties with this issue, that you can find some way, deep within yourself to reach out to those around you and give it a try. Once you feel the power of a true hug you will forever be a believer. Hugs heal. Hugs give comfort. Hugs show acceptance. Hugs are love.