Silent Hugs

Here is an entry from my journal a couple years ago. I just realized I have never posted this here before.

When I was in Holland I stayed with this family for a while. They had one girl about 7 years old. She came downstairs crying one day. I was at the computer. She sat on the sofa and I went and sat next to her. She came closer to me and I put my arm around her. She put her head into chest and cried. She looked up for a few seconts, then started talking. But since it was in Dutch, I didnt understand one word. The only thing I understood was name of her sister, who she had been upstairs with. I assumed they got into some kind of argument and that is why she came down crying. I just held her and kissed the top of her head. In about one minute or less she looked up at me and smiled. I kissed her on the forehead and she smiled even more. Then she got up and went to play.

This showed me the value of a silent hug. It also showed me that you dont need to say anything to comfort someone. You don't need to talk them out of their pain. Just be there for them and the pain will pass right out of them.

S. Hein
Ibarra, Ecuador
September 18, 2004