What are hugs on hold? They are hugs that live in the future, hugs still waiting to happen, the ones we cannot give because of embarrassment, fear, anger, distance, or illness. That desire to hug does not fade with time; it grows. What happens when you can hug the people who, for one reason or another, are on your list of hugs left on hold? You hug them more tightly, with more feeling, for longer. You release all that pent-up love in a single instant and pour it into that embrace.
Today, across the world, millions of hugs are on hold because of illness. It is only a pause; do not forget that. It is a pause that will make us stronger, more aware of how vulnerable we are, how much we need one another, how important we are to those who love us and they to us, and how no less important are those we do not love or do not realize we love. They too have hugs on hold, because they care about you and your loved ones even if they do not know you. So, during this pause the planet has asked of us, keep your hugs on hold too, so that when it ends, you can give those hugs more intensely than before.
We immigrants of today live with hugs on hold. And although it may not be so obvious, we are fortunate. We have technology, which so far stimulates only a couple of our senses. Those are enough to remind us that it is worth keeping alive the hope of sharing those hugs again, the ones that are on hold today. Immigrants in earlier times, and only a few of them, had just a photograph of their loved ones close to their hearts. Their hope of hugging them again rested in a letter that arrived with news already a couple of months out of date.
Today, keep your hugs on hold. Use the technology we have to nourish them and stimulate the rest of your senses. When the time is right, you will be able to release all that pent-up love you want to pour into every hug. Do not worry; the longing will not go away. But for now, the world needs us, so for everyone’s sake, it is better to keep your hugs on hold.
“One of the best feelings in life is hugging someone after missing them so much.”
P.S. For those reading this in the future: it was written during a pandemic.