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A hug in the woods







I've taken hundreds of walks through the woods near my home but yesterday was  different. About an hour in to my hike, I looked up and saw a tall young man with red hair coming at me. He reached up with one hand, as if he wanted to "high five" me. OK, I thought, and I reached up with my own hand to give it back to him. 

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand, and started to pull me toward him. He began entwining his fingers in mine, tugging on me to come close to him. I couldn't read his facial expression, or what his intent was. Before I knew it, we were chest to chest, as he grabbed my other hand too. I felt confusion and concern kick in, but also the thought, stay present here. And I did. 

I felt his shirt press against mine, and noticed the slight smell emanating from his chest. I was determined to stay in touch with what I was experiencing- a sudden and bizarre dance in the woods. 

Within seconds, a smiling young woman with brown hair came around the corner. "Oh, I'm so sorry", she blurted out. It dawned on me what was going on. I had just received a spontaneous hug, deep in the woods, from a person with special needs. She admonished the young man to let go of me, and apologized again. I replied back to her, "Now there's a loving young man!" I continued my journey with a smile, but a little quicker heartbeat. 

Most of my walks in the woods are uneventful. But like life, things can change in an instant. On this occasion, my brain stem was preparing me to fight or flee. Luckily in this case, I was able to stay present until I knew the bigger truth of what was going on, and not cause any extra harm. And lucky also, that the intentions of this stranger were benign, even friendly. That is not true, sadly, in all encounters. 

We sometimes  think that the goal of mindfulness is to "get rid of" fear, but that's not the case at all- fear is often an ally. It's about becoming aware of those signals- and learning when to act on them, and when to ignore them. 



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