Thank you for sharing this video....
I couldn't help but think about how much we guard ourselves from those we don't know.....

BBB

that's one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time. it gives me hope

Me too. Except for the hormonal part.

Thanks so much.

boho sent me this link and i have watched it several times.
oh my goodness...such delight.

I balled. Thank-you.

I do some wedding photography, too, and I just love this picture. It's so intimate and triumphant. Well done! What a perfectly captured moment.

The video was amazing. I think I'm going to have to hug people today.

thank you, andrea. that was beautiful.

i cried too. no hormones necessary.

:-)

I love this photo! It beams with happiness.

I love this. So much.

Ahhhh... the body loves a good hug. This should be a world-wide movement. Imagine what could happen!

love it! yep, me cried too. so much love growing inside while watching the video, waiting to pour out unto needed souls. thank you deeply andrea.

That made my day: being moved to tears by the public hugging, and then finding myself here among a like-minded and like-hearted sisterhood. Thanks, Andrea.

deezee told me about this post and about you. funny because i just linked to this exact video today, too!

you give me hope.

I am crying happy hormonal tears right along with you...thanks for sharing something so beautiful.

so sweet andrea,

i loved the first woman too.

thanks for sharing.

jenn

So sweet! Thanks for linking it

Still sniffling. So sweet.

I'm not hormonal and I cried. :) Love love love that first little lady.

I'm one of your many, many fans, and I've never posted a comment before. I just wanted to say THANKS for posting the link to "Free Hugs." Watching it completely transformed my morning from a vague self pity to a sense of abundance and gratitude. You provide a true service to your readers. I am so glad you are on the planet.

At first I thought “Who is Hugs and why is he not free”
but then you see the uncompromising action of a hug from a stranger and you can’t help but smile and feel happy.
Thank you it was greatly enjoyed.

That's not hormones, that's humanity.
I do think it's telling that something so simple can be so profound. Why am I crying, and feeling my insides react? I guess it's remotely connecting to how it feels to interact with strangers in a basic human affirmation. Being open and vulnerable is powerful stuff. Thank you Andrea. I hope you are well. Thinking of you. XO

Yup. Tears streaming down my face. :) And I think it temporarily helped my morning sickness go away. Woohoo! Thanks for posting this.

That was fabulous. Made me smile and get a little teary. I was so happy when he got his first hug! :-)

Love the video. Love, love, love the photograph. A perfect moment captured.

Linked on my Blog too in Australia and two others in the uk.
It is so moving is it not?
The man was on Australian tv yesterday.He's now trying to go for a world record. Hug on!

Everyday we see people who need a hug...maybe this video will teach us not to be afraid to share!

ive walked past this guy so so many times everybody seems quite frightened of him except the japanese tourists who go right in for the hugs.

Me too... ;-)

That guy is a local here in Sydney. Thats our main pedestrian mall in the city. I actually met his mate that does it with him last year at something else before realising who he was.

Its so weird that hes become a youtube sensation! haha

Awesome Andrea! Thanks for sharing with us!

Got teary-eyed when I watched this, too. Sent it to a bunch of friends last week and am using it as part of a lesson at the school where I am a teacher. We need more stuff like this on the news.

It's not just the hormones, though I'm sure they're helping. I saw this last week for the first time, and I, too, cried happy tears. I yearned for a hug after watching it.

happy hormonal tears along with you, my friend...

xoxoxo

this just made my day.

That video was filmed in Sydney! It's fantastic. :)

Wow. Thanks, Andrea. That took my breath away!

oh what a great video. more happy tears over here.

I'm hoping that if we ALL link to it the world will just be a little better...

now look what you made me do... I'm crying too.

Not only linked it...but sent it to about 50 other people!!!!!!!!!!!! Spreading this couldn only HELP...ya know.

Linked it on my blog too! Thanks for sharing...I saw this right after hearing of the shooting of the Amish children. I cried hard just from that sad stark contrast to those events. The world needs a hug after something like that. Perhaps if that man who shot those kids had gotten a random hug from a stranger more often he wouldn't have killed those poor children.

thanks for sharing that link. you don't need to be going through hormonal assault to tear up there.

I got through the video without crying -- just thought it was sweet, and liked the way it went from black & white to color when he got his first hug. When I read the comments on the video, though... THAT'S when I started crying.

AHHHH, That was great, you got me crying hormnal tears too.