The Second Free Hugs

Last Sunday, 12th June was the International Couchsurfing Day. And for the second time in my life, I had the pleasure of participating in a Free Hugs event. The first time was last May, also as a Couchsurfing event.

This time, the event was held at the Gateway of India and at Marine Drive. When a fellow couchsurfer put up on the forum that we should do "something" on International CS day, he suggested Free Hugs as an option. But I guess everybody was apprehensive about whether it'd be a good idea or not in Bombay. So, they refrained from saying anything more than "We're in, whatever the plan. Let us know." Finally, (thankfully too) a Free Hugs event was decided on.

To be very honest, even I wasn't entirely sure of how it'd go and I really hoped that there wouldn't be any ugly scenes or anything. To top it all, I was the only girl from the Forum to be there. But, I have blind faith in CS. Not only do I find it safe, I've always seen that CS manages to lift up my spirits and restore my optimism. It's in the philosophy of trusting, sharing and exchanging that the faith rests. Of course, it doesn't give me best friends forever and all. But it gives me a hope that if a bunch of strangers can trust, come together and spend time - whether it's a heritage walk around the city, a sit-down dinner and a chat, a hike or an evening of hugging random people on the road - the world's innocence is still alive somewhere. In fact, at the end of the day, one of the guys even dropped me home in his car. I was meeting him for the first time but I had no qualms going alone with him. You might call me stupid but this is the kind of faith I have in CS. I'm not saying there are no bad experiences there. But the percentage is just very little.


And about the Free Hugs, what can I say? The experience was extremely liberating. We baffled many people, scared many people and made many people happy. :) But more importantly for me, this time, I made myself happ(y) (-ier than I have been in the last 6 months or so). Plus, there are probably at least 5 new CS-ers in the world today, thanks to us! ;) Also, I met many like-minded people, some of whom, I absolutely adored! Such genuine, nice people. :)

And as far as my worries about unpleasant experiences were concerned, when I was surrounded by 14 awesome boys, I didn't even notice any lewd glance that might have come my way! :)

Okay, moral of the story: Couchsurfing Rocks! :D

Hugs - Spread the love! :D

Last week, I was in Edinburgh for a Couchsurfing festival, Edinburgh Rocks! 2010. Among many other events, my favourite one was the "Free Hugs" one. I find the concept of "Free Hugs" such an awsome gesture to restore people's faith in humanity and of spreading goodwill and positivism!

I was standing in that square for approximately two hours and I can say that the whole square was literally jetting out positive energy just because there were a bunch of us standing with smiles on our face, trying to make other people's day just a little bit better. During those two hours, at least 4 people asked me what was the campaign about. But, the sad part is that when we told them, it's just a Free Hugs event (I refuse to call it a campaign, however innocent and pure it's meaning may be!) to spread love, they refused to believe us! They were convinced that it's a product for which we are advertising or that we'll ask them for some donation/ money afterwards or something. People today are so governed by materialism that when somebody does something out of pure emotions, we doubt it of being genuine!

Most of the people passed us by. But, at least, when they looked at us, looking at them expectantly, hoping to hug them to make them feel better, they smiled. And, that was our reward: the smile that showed that they felt better, that they felt happier. And that smile meant that we had achieved what we wanted to! It's like a chain - if they are happy, they will make someone else happy, who will make someone else happy and so on and so forth. If this chain is at work everyday, in every city, the world would be a much happier place!

There were others, who refused to even acknowledge our presence in the area.... They just walked us past, not even smiling. I saw one woman sniffling and smoking and a few other guys, who had ugly scowls on their faces. And my heart went out to them!! These were the people, who actually, really needed the hugs. One might argue that they actually only needed some space. But, it is a scientifically proven fact that a human touch, a hug or a kiss works much better than any other kind of medicine to help stress and depression. If the world had a bit more compassion and patience with humanity, it can work wonders for itself! The Free Hugs was just a medium for spreading some of this. I hope I get to do it more often in the future and people in general do it more often as well!! :)