free hugs

when i first saw this video on YouTube, i think i teared up a bit. i dont know why, but i do think that it does the soul good to see something like this. call me a sap, a watering pot, what you will, but i do think that in this increasingly homogeneous world where touching is a taboo, and even coming too close to someone in a hallway is uncomfortable, this sort of thing is good. and the best part is that it has started a world-wide phenomena. people from countries all over the world are making their own impact with their hugs as well. i even joined the mailing list, which i only rarely do, so you know that this impacted me. i also watched the brazil vid, the korea vid, new york, and canada. its pretty cool what people will do for others, especially when its free.