As we mourn the losses at Virginia Tech last week, the media talking heads keep yammering on about the emotional and psychological health of the nation's young people. Instead of yammering, maybe we should look East and try something they are doing in India.
from http://www.odemagazine.com/
Students in Delhi hug each other every morning. The new ritual is Indian officials’ response to an increase in student suicides. Some 4,000 students in Delhi kill themselves every year. The main reason is fear of failure, a common phenomenon in a country where high value is placed on academic performance. The daily hugging ritual—for children between ages 9 and 18—is aimed at giving young people a greater sense of self-esteem. A representative of the local education department told the Times of India (Nov. 30, 2006): “We have observed that there is an increasing sense of worthlessness among kids which forces them to take extreme steps like suicide. And this sense of emptiness has grown manifold over the years as there is no one to give them a good hug, which makes them feel how important they are in someone’s life. We realized that each one of us needs a jaadu ki jhappi [the Hindi term for ‘magical hug of love’] to start our day.”
This hugging stuff is no secret to any of us 12 step people. We've known about human contact and a daily dose of unconditional love for decades now. You don't suppose the normies are gonna catch on do ya?
Students in Delhi hug each other every morning. The new ritual is Indian officials’ response to an increase in student suicides. Some 4,000 students in Delhi kill themselves every year. The main reason is fear of failure, a common phenomenon in a country where high value is placed on academic performance. The daily hugging ritual—for children between ages 9 and 18—is aimed at giving young people a greater sense of self-esteem. A representative of the local education department told the Times of India (Nov. 30, 2006): “We have observed that there is an increasing sense of worthlessness among kids which forces them to take extreme steps like suicide. And this sense of emptiness has grown manifold over the years as there is no one to give them a good hug, which makes them feel how important they are in someone’s life. We realized that each one of us needs a jaadu ki jhappi [the Hindi term for ‘magical hug of love’] to start our day.”
This hugging stuff is no secret to any of us 12 step people. We've known about human contact and a daily dose of unconditional love for decades now. You don't suppose the normies are gonna catch on do ya?
