“You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on.”Are you meeting a friend for lunch? According to "The Farmer's Almanac," if you are American you will probably touch each other twice an hour. If you are English, you may not touch each other at all. If you are French, you might touch each other 110 times an hour, and if you are Puerto Rican, you just might touch each other 180 times an hour.
There are obvious cultural differences in communication styles, but studies agree that touching is important to human development. Psychologist Wayne Dennis observed a group of babies in an orphanage where they were given practically no stimulation, including touch ("New Mind" by Robert Ornstein and Paul Ehrlich; A Touchstone Book, 1990). Most laid on their backs all day in bare cribs placed in bare rooms. They were touched only when their diapers were changed. At the end of one year, the children's development was about that of a six-month-old. The good news is that, once adopted into nurturing environments, these children quickly caught up to other children their age.
Human touch is vital. With it, we thrive. Without it, we wither. And it is good preventive medicine. It is simpler to hold a hand than to hold a consultation. A hanging head needs a shoulder under it. A back rub can be the easiest way to get a "monkey off someone's back." And
the best way to get somebody's chin up is by lifting it with a gentle hand.
One of the best gifts you can give another may be an encouraging touch. And would you really mind if the gift were returned?
From Lifesupport.
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