After a while, I pondered on what made me attracted with the movement. Sure there are lots of others out there, but there’s just something on Free Hugs that will move your heart and want you to join in. What is it? It’s the empty feeling in your heart. It’s the need for a hug. There’s something inside you that longs for a hug even if it came from a complete stranger. And for people like me being in an almost hopless country full of corruption and problems, It’s just what we need right now.

Anyways, here’s the story of how it all began and the official Video of Free Hugs which foretells the story of Juan Mann itself. Sound track by Sickpuppies intitled “All the Same“.

How it all started:
I’d been living in London when my world turned upside down and I’d had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words “Free Hugs” on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.

Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven’t compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.

Vid:

Story content and Video from the Free Hugs Campaign.
Video Hosted by: YouTube.