Can you?

“do it quickly.” ..“When you are done, don’t linger.”..  “Wash your hands afterward”..

If you were wondering what those instructions were for, it is for the most underrated, feel-good human connection that the coronavirus put the kibosh on with its social distancing ways.

But if it's some hug therapy you are really yearning for, an aerosol scientist The New York Times spoke to has a way.

Wear a mask. Hug outdoors. Try to avoid touching the other person’s body or clothes with your face and your mask. Don’t hug someone who is coughing or has other symptoms.

The above is reproduced from an online article and it made me wonder if things will ever be normal again. There is something magical about a hug and there is some merit in what Munna Bhai or Vasool Raja said in their movies, it can be a treatment. Some searching online will tell you that oxytocin levels rise when we hug, touch, or even sit close to someone, it's associated with happiness. A UCLA study in 2011 showed that raised levels of oxytocin promote optimism and self-esteem. Overall, hugging increases our ability to control our feelings and generates happiness.

                                       

The lockdown has dropped the spirits of many and the reasons vary from job losses, pay cuts, loss of a loved one, separation from loved ones, the list goes on. Many people need a hug, so if you can give one do not withhold. But wait in this pandemic and social distancing when human touch and contact is taboo;  if you think rightly hugging is too much to do, can you do something simpler?

Can you listen to a person who yearns to be listened to if not hugged?

Can you listen to a person without interrupting with your opinions, biases, knowledge and experiences?

Can you accept the fact that the person you are listening to, is competent enough to pick up the pieces and solve things if you will simply listen?

Can you accept that you need not have a solution but can be a part of the solution by simply being there and listening?

Can you be there?

To you it may not be much for the other it may be life.

All images courtesy Google and belong to the respective owners

P.S. Drop me a line and I promise I will make the time to listen, I may not be good but I promise to learn quickly