The Human Touch

Ever stopped to think about how little the human touch is used in todays world? I was online tonight and read the status update of a friend of mine on Facebook when I was suddenly struck by a strange thought. She is really going through some tough times at this present time and several people had made remarks of support and commented that they were praying for her...for her to call if she needed anything...etc. Well, when I went to make a comment to her, I was struck by one thought. 'I wonder if she needs a human touch...something tangible like a hug, a smile, a face she can see?'

I couldn't help but think that in todays world all these tangible things are being replace with the modern things. Handshakes are being replaced by keystrokes, Personal conversations are being replace by text messages, phone calls replace a nice visit with a warm cup of tea or a cold drink; it seems we are just not using the human touch as much as we used to. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the modern techonology and all the ease it brings to our lives, but I don't want to forget the effect that the human touch has on our lives.

We can all recall moments in our lives when the touch of a hand on our shoulder or a hug from a best friend was all that we needed to help calm our fears, lower our anxiety, or dispell us from our loneliness. There have actually been times when no words were spoken to me, but just someones touch communicated all that needed to be said. Touching is an act of love or a way for us to communicate without words. A human touch can reassure us like nothing else can. When a baby is born, one of the first things they are introduced to is the mother's touch.

I've watched my little Landon when he is exploring things for the first time...he touches the object of interest over and over again. He is curious and wants to learn of the object by touching it and getting a feel of it. It's almost as if his hands are the windows of his mind and he can see and learn of the object much more clearly by touching it. I've noticed that when he really wants to get my attention, he will touch me...sometimes with that annoying continual tapping that will drive a mother insane...but it's a touch nonetheless.


Sometimes I think that we forget the importance of the human touch and because it is such a basic thing all our life that we take it for granted...just as we do breathing.

Tonight, late as it was, I went on my instincts and I drove to where my friend was and told her I just wanted to see her and give her a personal touch, a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friends face to look into and see that I truly cared enough to put a personal touch to what was going on in her life. The reward of the smile on her face was worth the little bit of time and effort I took to do something 'old school' and uncommon in today's world.