Connection: What Brings the Heart at Bay?

The human touch is one of the most important connections in the world. It’s what the deaf can hear, the blind can see, the heart can feel, and the hand can hold. The first connection you truly feel is in the neonatal stage and that is of your mother. A baby realizes the importance of breath and the simple mechanics of a heartbeat when resting with their mother. This becomes the longing desire to be with the protective blanket that watches over the baby all the time. As you grow older, whether you are at school, university or simply a working adult, the desire and longing for a mother’s hug doesn’t disappear. In fact, it grows into a longing that increases ever so much as we age due to the time ticking for reality to strike. Eventually, our days become numbered and our moments treasured even more than anything.

Growing up also brings new people into your life, eventually ones who become something more, and of course, they are labeled as such. What happens then? Well, a new connection forms creating a bond that the eyes can’t see but the heart can feel. Then the longing to be with them all of the time comes up. But can you control it? Can you control your feelings for someone you just met?

Some people say yes, others outright disagree. Now there’s often a lot said about how you can choose whom you fall in love with and how many just know what is right. This is when you tend to follow your heart instead of thinking about the entire situation rationally. Rational does not exist in this realm, in fact, this is where the connection is determined if it is true or not. Then the question becomes, how do you know if the next hug will last 2 seconds, 5 minutes or a lifetime. Has the hug been for a long lost relative, someone who has come back from a world tour, or across the country, or someone aging and you don’t know when you’ll even see him or her again. Now what happens then? You must decide on how precious that thread is in your life. How long will you be willing to cradle it? Is it worth staying for a childhood or a lifetime? Would you simply do anything to be able to spend just a few more days, hours, or minutes with someone? What are you willing to risk?

It may be seen as simply holding a finger of the one you love so dearly, or grabbing an arm when you’re scared, or even hugging someone so tight when things take a drastic turn that you just don’t want to let go. What would you do then? If you did everything in your power to fight the world in order to gain just a few more minutes.

What would you do to be able to keep a hug forever?