Lockdown 298

Lockdown Day 298 - 18 January 2021

Today, while thumbing through all my photos on my phone to find a specific one from way back in 2019, it was the weirdest feeling going back past December 2019. 

The life I photographed then and the pictures I saved seem as if it was from another life. Pictures with friends in restaurants, pictures of us doing the mall walk with crowds of people in the background, and the best of all, hugs are seen on many of them. I wondered what the absence of a hug can do to a person. 

In my line of work, touch or the sensitivity thereof is crucial for development and self preservation. As humans we are wired for touch. 

Not being touched, such as loss of friend hugs, a pat on the back or workplace handshakes can result in touch deprivation. Research shows it takes about 20 seconds for a hug to release hormones such as oxytocin and the happy hormones dopamine and serotonin. But now we are told not to. (and after seeing all those pictures I daresay social distancing is grossly unethical 🤦‍♂️) 

So for the time being, other than getting hugs at home, there are a number of ways the touch sensors can be activated:

Try out a massage, have your hair or nails done, spend some quality time with animals, get a teddy bear or dance! Wrapping yourself in a blanket or submerging your body in water also works wonders. 

So tonight I offer up a prayer of thanks to the One who created us with touch sensitivity, and for those who already experience touch starvation. May you be surrounded with God's shekinah presence and find peace and harmony therein. And just go hug someone you know, okay? 

#Gbwy

#Ggt