Sharing love & Hugs: A Success Story
In the age of social media, how do you get your startup business known in your community without paying for internet advertising? Especially a business whose main goal is to rebuild humanity and community through personal connection?! Well, hosting a hugging booth for Valentine’s weekend just seemed fitting. And we had a wonderful time!
While visiting businesses around Prescott in the last week promoting the Prescott Wellness Expo Scavenger Hunt, we’ve received great support in our efforts to bring back human connection. Mentioning our most recent venture being the hugging booth, we’ve heard several say “WOW, that was you?!” with smiles on their faces! We’ve had many requests to host another, and we are seriously considering it! Perhaps for St. Patrick’s Day! *stay tuned*
Thank you to everyone who stopped by, shared hugs, and supported our mom-owned business crowd funding efforts!
I asked my youngest daughter, a founding member of Three Goddess Gardens, to write her experience. Here is the un-edited, authentic perspective of an 11 year old:
“Ever since I could remember I always wanted to give people hugs, not knowing it was healing for the soul. When I grew older my mom told me what the effects were I was so amazed that when you hug it’s not just touch it’s energy. A lot of times I would come up behind my mom and hug her thinking it was love, when it was but my mom would always tell me that you have to ask someone because they may feel better if you ask them to rather than surprising them, what if they are not in the receiving form. The hugging booth really helped me to see that. My job was to stand on the corner and held a sign that’s said “ free hugs” while dancing to music. I felt super confident and there was no doubt that I didn’t enjoy myself, and yes I got so many weird looks get a lot of rude looks and inside I would feel so embarrassed just standing there and sharing joy and people would just have rude looks and snide remark’s. But when my mom asked and people would turn her down she would say okay in the happiest way she could and I saw how she took it and I wanted to act just like that and I started. It felt so good to act like that when I got rejected. The hugging booth changed me in some way and I can learn so much. I also got so much love and support. One person can turn themselves into something great and brave. I love how the people who wanted to hug acted, they were so nice and sweet. The hugging booth was something that I will remember forever, it’s something that changed people days, months, years, and even lives. Thank you for reading this. ”
By Josselyn Seale, age 11, Usui Reiki II Certified
As a society, we have lost our sense of personal awareness and how our actions may affect others, both negatively and positively. I had no idea that handling “rejection" with grace meant that my daughter was watching and learning, nor did I realize she was feeling uneasy and embarrassed at the beginning of the weekend when she was faced with “snide remarks.” After reading her experience, we discussed together the importance of allowing others to BE just as they are, and giving ourselves the same love and compassion. It has been a humbling experience to now understand just how closely my own children are paying attention to the ways in which I interact with others, and even when it’s not ‘perfect’ it is a learning experience for all.
Josselyn has endured challenges of being an empathic child, often times in paralyzing states of emotional overwhelm when in public. Her Occupational Therapist and I are delighted to see her growth in emotional awareness and being able to put into writing how she felt. To the parents of highly sensitive children, I see you. I feel you. I am you. How may we support you?
~Tiffany Seale
2/23/22
