love is the word

mission:

• offer free hugs and chocolate to strangers at one post plaza in sf

earlier this week i decided that i wanted to give something awesome away on craigslist.  right as i began trying to think of material things i owned that i’d be willing to give away, i remembered my challenge to self to try to do things that didn’t require money.  hmmm – free love?  a little too intangible.  i decided to offer free hugs and chocolate on craigslist.  4-6pm on friday september 26th, i did exactly that.

won’t lie.  at first i was a little afraid i was going to get a bunch of super weird/creepy folks responding.  but in reality, i ended up getting some beautiful responses to my ad:

I send you my love, and support. I thank you for your kindness!
Robert

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thank you i always need a hug thank you again

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:)

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are you really giving chocolate too.

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You make me happy.    =]

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I’ll definantly be there!  I could sure use a hug.  I’ll keep it PG.  How will I know where you are? :P

tylor

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hey i do not really need free hugs but i really  want to meet new people i m from france studing here and i wanted to do what you ll do i mean the free hugs in france so that mean you re somebody nice so i hope you ll answer and we can go for a walk just speak thanks

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Seher, thanks for your contribution to the peace of the world, and for your courage and determination.  Yah!  May many blessings come to you, Joi

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Dear Seher…………..I cant come to give/receive a hug in person. I am disabled and dont get out. However all is cool and I am very touched by your posting. With the telephone and the internet I try to do what you are doing, but you are doing your wonderfulness with panache and style. I love it. Yours is the most unique and loving ad I have ever seen in CraigsList. I hope that Friday afternoon 4pm to 5pm goes off beautifully for you and for all who meet you there. If you have the time and inclination, I would love to hear back from you afterwards.
Sending you multitudinous hugs,
Lorelei Rathel

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you are way cool  !!!!!!!————here is a e-mail hug………..I’m in Napa………….gas it too expensive and life is too frantic so I pause now to honor your effort .    God Bless you ……….

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I think what you are doing is GREAT would you like to be interview on my show liberationradio.net if so give us a call Patrick Williams

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hi seher, yes the world needs a hug and so do I. from an ex marine I want to take this moment to give you a hug. only love can conquer hate. thank you my lady. jim.

nonetheless, i was a bit afraid for my safety and possible uncomfortable situations, so i was lucky when my friend shakirah offered to be my “bodyguard, sign holder, and candy hander-outer.”  she said wasn’t trying to give annnyyybody hugs – i could handle that part.  she felt like she was rather in the mood to knock someone out.  “great!” i said – “makes you all the more prepared to be my bodyguard.” :D

i get off work at 3pm on fridays so right after i left there i rushed over to walgreens to buy a big piece of posterboard and some chocolate.  i didn’t want to make the “free hugs” sign in front of folks at the plaza, so i just plopped down on some open floor area near the front of walgreens and got down to business.

per usual, i’m running 15 minutes late for my 4pm “appointment” at the plaza.  shak is running late, too.  i call her and she says she’s at the plaza.  i have my yellow beanie on and have folded up my sign so not to attact attention on my way there – i really wasn’t ready to do this alone.  i get to the plaza and no shak in sight.  commence internal freak out.  i call shak to see where she is and about 2 seconds later i see her and phil a few hundred feet away.

shak posts up with the sign, propped up on one of the steps.  i grab the candy and the minicards.  i realize that i don’t really think any craigslist folks are gonna show so we’re going to have start soliciting people:

“FREEEE HUGS AND CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“WORK SUCKS BUT FRIDAY’S AWESOME AND YOU SHOULD GET A FREE HUUU-UUUGGGG!”

“FREE HUGS, NO STRINGS, AND NO I’M NOT WITH A CHURCH”

“FREE HUGS AND CHOCO-LATE, FREE HUGS AND CHOCO-LATE, FREEEEE HUUUUGGGS AND CHOCOLATE!!!”

“FREE HUGS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!”

“FREE HUUU-UUUGS, FREE HUUU-UGS, FREE HUH-HUH-HUH…YOU KNOW YOU WANT A FREE HUUU-UUG.”

“HI.  DO YOU WANT A FREE HUG?  OH.  WHAT?  YOU DON’T LOVE ME?”

etcetera.  we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves making up songs, jingles, freestyle raps, and dances.  many people simply walked by – some people looked at us like the odd hippies we were, others smiled quietly to themselves, while others had smiles that eventually widened into uncontainable laughter.  there were some people who approached us from even across the street, so ready for a hug and incredulous why anyone wouldn’t want free hugs ;)  folks sitting on the steps near us mostly didn’t approach us for hugs, but observed us for lengths of time, highly amused.

like many of the acts, it was interesting to see people’s reactions and often, skepticism.  people asked us what church we were with, what we were selling, why were doing it, and what was in it for us.  especially when i handed minicards out – people’s initial reaction was that we were giving out free hugs as promotion for the blog.

as shakirah was the one holding the sign, and i was wrapped up in conversation with people explaining the project, a lot of people were approaching shakirah for hugs.  it didn’t take much for shak to give in to the good energy and become a power-hugger :D  we converted the hard-ass new yorker to some cali lovin awesomeness!!!  yee.  shakirah even introduced two solicitation tactics: eye contact and preemptively opening your arms wide for a hug.  it made it very difficult for folks to refuse us.  shak was very good at making eye contact and talking people into hugs – “weelllll, alllllriiiight,” they’d say.  i favored stalking.  at one point, i caught a couple eyeing us at the street corner and called them out.  they jokingly pretended not to be observing us as i inched over and gave them both hugs and chocolate :)  hahah, they didn’t see that one coming.  of the step people, one man sitting there since the beginning of our session finally approached me 30 minutes or so later and said he needed a hug :D.  on the same steps, a father sat with baby in lap and smiled.

we even made a couple friends.  a young man by the name of zach offered up some chocolate for us to hand out and even sent us home with some free produce.  he told us about his own pay it forward idea around sustainability and composting.  a masseuse named cy shared some sweets with shak and i.  he also offered me up a free 2-minute shoulder massage.  hahahah was a bit of an awkward sight – me soliciting folks amidst contorted massage-reaction facial expressions :D

we were a bit of spectacle, as i’m sure you can imagine.  one man put us up on his twitter feed.  some folks texted their friends to come get a free hug.  other people told their friends to meet them “where the free hugs were,” amused by their friends’ confusion in response.  we ended up taking several photos with tourists and somehow even became the subjects of a mini “photoshoot.”  hopefully we’ll see some of those pictures at some point in life?  if so, i’ll make sure to share them with all yooooz.

we hugged dogs, men in business suits, a kid, a ups lady, students, couples, disabled folks, homeless folks, hippies like us (shak’s one too now), musicians on tall acrobatic-looking bikes from seattle, an environmentalist, a masseuse, tourists and people from endless backgrounds and experiences not readily visible on the surface.  we group hugged.  a particular young man took a liking to shakirah and came back for a second hug on his way back passing us again.

we even hugged a young lady from australia whose friend founded the worldwide “free hugs” campaign in australia a year ago.  apparently it was a youtube phenomenon, which i never knew about because i live under a rock.  quite serendipitous.  check out some youtube footage:

free hugs news coverage:

free hugs campaign music video:

we were having so much fun, we ended up staying an hour past the time we had allotted.  here’s to over a 100 free hugs on a friday afternoon in the san francisco financial district.  and to lots of smiles, lovin, and goodness.