Wim Wenders' Film still
… we are each of us angels with only one wing,
and we can fly only by embracing each other.
Lucian de Crescenzo
But getting to “embrace” in our times isn’t easy. Watch Free Hugs: what does it take to begin overcoming the obvious wariness, distrust, and fear of physical contact? How long to begin to dissolve it?
How many lonely angels wander on foot among us? This is a long holiday weekend, and I’m taking a holiday too. So I’m repeating an earlier post, with a suggestion (for me and for you) that it may be a great time to meet wandering angels and make them welcome!
Touch2Touch 
It’s Canada Day here, and I’ll be on the look-out for one-winged angels. Wonderful post. I was glad to see that they got a lot of hugs in the video … which also had one of my favourite Leonard Cohen songs playing … Hallelujah!
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That video brings me to tears every time I watch it!
Glad you enjoyed, Rebekah. Happy holidays of all kinds!
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I come from a touchy-huggy French family and brought my kids up to be the same way. I’d hug the free hug guy 🙂 Could it be our Puritan background that still hampers us? Other cultures don’t seem to have our singular hangups about all touch being somehow sexual and open to misconstruing.
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There are a number of cultures that aren’t touchy-huggy, not just the American Puritan. And also individual strains within cultures. Coming from one such myself, I (now) see it as a loss and a sadness — but didn’t know what I was missing at the time, and found it a little hard to become comfortable with my husband’s more outgoing and exuberant family.
Yours is better!
I would definitely hug the free hug guy.
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I also didn’t come from a hugging family – and neither did my husband. Over the years (i.e,. from college forward) I have turned into more of a hugging person – but even now, whenever I move in to hug any family member, they always look at me as though I am weird. Fortunately, my husband and I give each other hugs freely, and often. 🙂
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“Hugs freely and often “–
Recipe for a great marriage!!!!
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I watched the video with my daughters. Each time a child was hugged the words, “Awwww, that is so nice of them” came out of their mouths. It was a very, very nice video. Thank you for directing us to it. I have always been amazed at how much power one small hug can contain.
Have a great holiday weekend!
Tara
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That makes me so happy, Tara! That you could share the video, the three of you. And it IS powerful, the power of one small hug.
Cheers and hugs to you all, Judith
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I watched the video. The tears were welling up in my eyes, but I was smiling at the same time. Very nice post! Have a great holiday! -Theresa
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Theresa, exactly, smiling through the tears.
But restorative. Happy Fourth to you too!
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Love the photo and the movie. Fear of flying or getting hurt again, I guess, even though I can’t recall the primordial hurt. I recall once seeing a couple joyfully embracing in the train station, just like in the movies and wondering about the friendship or romance or precious memories that incited such a vigorous reunion.
On one of my trips to Taize, I met an American girl from Georgia whose father knew a professor-friend of mine (ah the connections). We formed the easy friendship of weary pilgrims who have traveled a seemingly long time among strangers. Travelers whose kinship is cultural; shared language, history and that odd, often ironic characteristic that is American. All differences of age, class, religion and gender, for the moment, diminished as the ascendancy of our special sameness took flight.
About a year passed before I returned to Taize for another visit, and while standing there at the “camp for the soul”, I saw her running toward me. (I had asked about her, when I first arrived.) Just in time I caught her (nearly knocked me over) and I realized that I was experiencing one of those embraces that I had longed for at another time. I think now that it may have been the same exuberant embrace of the Father for the errant son of the parable of the Prodigal son. Perhaps our joy was enhanced by our mutual discovery of Taize and the deep kinship of the soul which is precious to many friends even to this day.
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What a beautiful story, Joe! For those who are unacquainted with the extraordinary ecumenical community in Burgundy, in France, here is a link to Taizé, a place in which everyone — regardless of creed, color, nationality — experiences “the deep kinship of the soul,” in Joe’s wonderful phrase.
In its own way, Taizé (which is simply the name of a village) is outside the bounds of time and space.
But there’s really no way to explain what Taizé is, it has to be experienced.
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It’s our destiny! The sooner the better! Touching….
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Touching — in every sense!
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LOVE the video – what a wonderful way to start the day. Thank you for sharing (again)…I’m passing it on to friends as a virtual hug to start their days, too!
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Happy about that, Jen!
😀
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There are lonely angels among us everywhere – my one, when I found her, was truly special with wings as brown as a Buzzard’s!
If you loved Wim Wenders films, you might enjoy Closely Observed Trains by Jiri Menzel 🙂
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Confession time: I actually didn’t like the movie. I liked the still photo, and Peter Falk, and the quote, and the concept. How could one doubt that there are angels among us, and that some are lonely?
I am very happy that you found yours, and that she is no longer lonely.
I looked at some trailers for Closely (Watched, US) Observed Trains and it looks like a charming film. My memory of the Czechoslovakian Spring is very keen: the Czechs that year had a pavilion at the New York World’s Fair, and they had the most extraordinary exhibits! I remember glass and ceramics of wit and charm and joy and delight! And a restaurant with delicious food, and an aura everywhere of joy and spontaneity and creativity — and then it was all over.
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Confessions are a part of our blogs and they certainly don’t diminish the initial sentiment carried in what we write. That things can create joy and spontaneity and creativity and then be over, there is no doubt. Fascinating subjects and writing – please keep it going 🙂
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All of us — going onward!
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Sweet, and true.
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I still LOVE this video — hope you enjoyed, Naomi.
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