大象传媒

From Rae Duke, Religion and Ethics teacher and broadcaster.聽
During a recent round of 鈥榯ruth truth lie鈥� (the game where you give two facts and one lie about yourself, before everyone tries to spot where you fibbed) I contemplated repeating the number of times per day that we, quote on quote, 鈥榟ave鈥� to listen to the Frozen soundtrack in our lockdown household 鈥� because the (double!) figures really do beggar belief. My daughter鈥檚 favourite character from the film is the simultaneously innocent, yet remarkably wise, talking snowman, Olaf. What he loves most, even more than his philosophical ponderings are 鈥榳arm hugs鈥�.聽
We can all relate, Olaf! A heartfelt hug so perfectly expresses joy or sorrow. It silently says, 鈥渨e鈥檙e friends鈥�, it buffers pain and stress better than verbal support; hugs are de facto. Or at least they used to be. Though times are changing a little for those on their own, we鈥檙e still enduring a downturn in the cultural, even legal, appropriateness of hugs. The most innovative souls in the UK have turned transparent shower curtains on mobile rails into cuddle-enablers, using four armholes with plastic gloves in them - (they鈥檙e real feats of engineering aren鈥檛 they!) - all to hug it out in the back garden.聽
There鈥檚 a saying by family therapist Virginia Satir, 鈥淲e need four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance鈥� and twelve for growth鈥�. As someone without one of those shower-rail-construction thingamabobs, I鈥檝e wondered what can be done as we muddle through without one of the best forms of human expression? Perhaps we can benefit from another kind of closeness whilst tight squeezes are off limits鈥� there鈥檝e been a record number of smiles and 鈥渉ello鈥檚鈥� exchanged in my local park these past 12 weeks, not to mention the soul-stirring solidarity with, and commitment to, vital causes on our streets and screens. Maybe that goes some way to making up for the physical distance between us and loved ones.聽
And there are the hugs of the future to consider too鈥�! I鈥檝e had in mind the work of artist Charlie Mackesy recently, whose drawings and words bring me so much comfort. Years ago, he created a breathtaking depiction of that famous Biblical embrace 鈥� both painting and sculpting the moment the Prodigal Son (and Daughter in some versions) returns home into Dad鈥檚 arms. It鈥檚 a real tonic to search out in these times and then to visualize鈥� one day, one day!