I'd like to tell you about this amazing worldwide Free Hugs Campaigns. Juan started the Free Hugs Campaign, which continues to touch many millions of people around the world. He regularly spends his Thursday at Pitt Street Mall, in Sydney giving hugs to all those who need them.
It is people like him that remind us that the world is a good place, that it isn't as bad as is expressed in the media. And the fact that people of all countries have joined in, shows that he is not alone in deeply caring about people.
I'd like to share his story behind how the Free Hugs Campaign came about.
"I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.
Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.
So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.
And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.
Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time."
Hugs are magical It really makes life so much brighter when we share ourselves and create that contact with people. Sometimes, a hug is all we need.
In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER to brighten up their lives. After all, If you can reach just one person
With Hugs,
Jolande.
You can find more about Juan Mann at
Below is the very touching Free Hugs Video, from the city Amsterdam.
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