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GENTLENESS AND HUGS
By
Joseph J. Mazzella
In my life I have experienced a
lot of different types of hugs. I have gotten the
warm hug that goes on forever. I have gotten the
bear hug that squeezes the air right out of your
lungs. I have gotten the neck hug where the little
child jumps in your arms and wraps lovingly around
your neck. I have gotten the back slapper hug
where the hugger gives you the bam, bam on the
back. I have even gotten the leg hug which
toddlers all over the world use to melt your
heart. The most memorable hug I ever got, however,
came when I was a teenager.
I was visiting a
monastery in the Midwest with several other boys.
Our guide took us through the simple rooms where
the Priests and Monks lived, worked, and prayed.
As we entered a small kitchen one of the Brothers
walked in. To say he was intimidating would have
been an understatement. He was a giant of a man.
He stood well over six and a half feet tall. He
must have weighed over three hundred pounds as
well. He looked like a lineman for a professional
football team dressed in a brown, wool robe. As we
talked, though, his kind spirit and delightful
sense of humor put us all at ease. That is until
he rose to leave. Then he walked right at me to
give me a hug. At first I feared he might crack a
rib, but when he took me in his huge arms all I
felt was the love from his soul. It was the
gentlest hug I ever got.
Leo Rosten said: "It is
the weak who are cruel. Gentleness can only be
expected from the strong." I learned that lesson
first hand in the arms of one of the strongest but
gentlest spirits I have ever met in this world. He
showed me with one hug that God is love and that
our real strength comes from loving each other as
He loves us. He showed me that our true power
comes when we aren’t afraid to embrace our
goodness or express our joy. He showed me too that
gentleness and hugs will forever go together. May
your life always be full of both.
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