When things are tough, we often comment that we just need a good hug. And now, in our toughest of times when we need a hug more than ever, we just can't. So what's a hugger to do during this coronavirus pandemic? One hugger has found new ways to connect during quarantine, and she's sharing them!
If you are like me, then maybe you've had a nagging feeling that something was missing for the last few weeks. Perhaps you have that constant feeling that feels like an itch that needs to be scratched. You want to scratch the itch, but you just can't quite reach it. If only you could ask someone for help. But right now, we are supposed to social distance. No one is able to help. Thus, the itch continues.
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That itch is a need for touch, and some folks are just huggers. They need that connection to others! Vanessa White Fernandes has developed a new way to satisfy her itch for hugs during this COVID-19 outbreak! To replace her desire for hugging others, she instead is cutting out paper hearts and leaving happy messages on the windows of various businesses in her city of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Image Credit: The Times-Tribune
She's left hearts for those who need them most, including hospitals, a grocery store, and non-essential businesses currently closed down. In this way of connecting, Vanessa is still sharing her appreciation for others, but without the physical connection.
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In May, Vanessa planned to take a 20-day trip across the country, giving hugs and talking about life experiences with people she encountered. Because of the pandemic, she obviously had to cancel that trip. As she began to social distance, Vanessa stopped hugging people. The last time she hugged someone else was a little over two weeks ago. Still, she finds ways to connect with people even when the physical distance between them is too great for a hug.
Vanessa makes her current purpose clear when she says "It makes me feel less scared and alone if I transmit a positive message... Fear isolates us from one another." Founder of the Hugging Army, Vanessa lives a life of hugging others. She often sports a "Free Hugs" t-shirt and has a matching sticker with that slogan on her car. Temporarily, she has removed both from her life and is instead using her paper cutouts to generate solidarity within the community.
Vanessa isn't the only person. People in other parts of the country are experiencing the same struggle and making their stories known.
Vanessa's story points us back to the connection God intends for human beings. Just as with Adam and Eve, we were not meant to be alone, but to connect. Aside from the physicality we feel when we touch others, we also benefit on a deeper physical and emotional level.
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One thing no one is short of right now is stress. With all the anxiety and joblessness around the pandemic, many people could use a hug to help destress. Too much stress can lead to sickness, which is the last thing anybody wants to feel at this time. Hugs can also strengthen the immune system making any sickness less likely. Not only that, but your body will benefit from reduced blood pressure. Yet most of all, hugs remind us that we are not alone in the world.
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God intends for us to be in companionship with other people. Maybe you live with someone and can safely hug. For those living alone, maybe a digital hug will have to suffice for now. What is clear is that even when we cannot connect in the way we desire, God can provide us with another option. If we can search, we can find.
h/t: The Times-Tribune
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