Hugs

Hugging is a skill.  A lot of people don't have it.  They start to hug and then seem to freeze up or get all stiff.  They seem to reach out for a hug but then comes amnesia.  Or maybe they never had a good hug and are clueless.  It has never been my problem.  I don't recall any good role models.  I was always just good at a hug.  I don't mind at all if someone does not want to be hugged.  It is their space.  What I see is this seeming desire but incompetence when attempted.  I would like to hit a baseball thrown at me, but I know I cannot, so I stopped trying.  I tried and failed so I went on to become a runner.  Not much hugging there though.  I rarely hug priests.  The are horrible at it.  They should wear a sign, "Don't hug!"  A hug tells you a lot about a person's past.  This is why touch is a doorway into the soul.  I lot of people don't want anyone to get in, but I think it is more they would like someone to get in, but just don't know how.  I think God is a good hugger, given that God has no skin.  In prayer I get hugged by God.  My skin warms up.  I feel at peace.  I may even doze off.  I kind of melt into God.  Prayer for me is a good hug.