The best things in life are free

I live in London, England- a city of millions. But sometimes, even when surrounded by dozens of people, this city can make you feel kind of alone. This is a major problem in major cities. Everyone is in a hurry, people have become cynical and skeptical, everyone keeps their head down, the iPodders are tuned in and turned off to the rest of the world. There is a complete disconnect.

But! there are lots of incredible people out there that are trying to make the world a closer place and thousands of them can be found on www.couchsurfing.com. I joined the CouchSurfing community last fall and I've already met lots of incredible people and surfed a couple of couches. But, as it says in the mission statement, "CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world- it's about participating in creating a better world. We strive to make a better world by opening our homes, our hearts and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!"

When I arrived in London I started checking out the CS Events page so I could meet some like-minded people here in The Big Smoke. Last week I came across a listing for a "Free Hugs" event. I had read a little about the Free Hugs Campaign in the newspaper over the years and always wanted to get out there and do it myself. This was the perfect opportunity, so, I made my FREE HUGS placard, complete with peace sign, heart and two maple leafs, and headed for the South Bank of the river Thames.

When I arrived, the first person I saw was Gilad, a CouchSurfer from Israel whom I had met a couple of weeks earlier at a CS karaoke event. Gilad was holding his sign (which offered FREE HUGS in English, Hebrew and Japanese) high above his head. I went straight over and wrapped my arms around him- my afternoon of Free Huggin' had begun.

The next two hours of my life were absolutely incredible. As the general public raced by I held my sign up and shouted things like, "Free Hugs!", "Hugs are awesome and I can prove it!", "Have you hugged a Canadian today?". It started off slowly. Many people tried to ignore us as they passed. Some stopped to take photos of the "crazy people" but kept a safe distance. But then I saw a woman standing just a few feet away, watching us with a smile on her face. I walked over to her and said, "Would you like a hug?" and without a word she put her arms around me. People started to clap and cheer and it was like an invisible barrier had been broken because more onlookers started coming over and hugging other CSers.

We gave out hundreds of Free Hugs and thousands of photos were taken! I hugged men, women, children... I even hugged a dog! There were no boundaries. No discrimination. No segregation. People of every age, gender and race were coming together. People who didn't speak the same language were hugging each other. The gesture of the hug said everything that needed to be said. It was a beautiful thing to behold.

Sure, there were still a lot of people that ignored us. A lot of people went to great lengths to avoid us. Some people would ask questions like, "What are you selling?" or "Is this a cult?", revealing their cynicism- which is too bad, because it is those people that really need to let their guard down and open up the most- but, the cynics and the skeptics were massively outnumbered by the ones who walked away smiling; feeling a little happier; that their day was a little brighter.

Sometimes, all we need is a hug.