Our lives revolve around love. Next week my grandson will be one-year-old. His little nostrils flare at the fragrance of a flower. His perfect limbs stretch in strange flexible asanas and he does everything with noisy enthusiasm. He gazes up at the light and smiles to strange dreams. We are his puppets on a string.
I think of the babies after World War II, who died mysteriously in orphanages. They were well-fed and sheltered. They had everything a baby needs, except for mothers to love and cuddle them. Like them, adults too crave for touch and recognition from significant others. Today, with life speeding away like a runaway train, the human need for touch, smiles and affirmation are often not met. Sometimes hi-tech may mean that the need for hi-touch is often ignored.
Are we forgetting the need to communicate love face to face? Are we forgetting daily acts of kindness and caring? While SMS, email, Facebook or Twitter can enhance the instant communication of loving thoughts, nothing can replace the human touch. So make sure it plays a major role in building unbreakable bonds and bridges in your life.
Valentine’s day will soon be here. Maybe you can send off cheques for hugs, back rubs and compliments to your loved ones. But love is not about things, it is about hi-touch: verbal, tonal and non-verbal actions. You can touch with a loving look and hug with a gentle, affirming word.
So, let us not forget our powerful human need to be moved and touched by the ones we love.