09 - 12, 2004

Living becomes an amazing experience when we choose to embrace it!

It has been a very nice weekend. I truly feel at home in Old Montreal not only as Martin but also as the Hugger Busker. I enjoyed a very receptive audience today. That culminated into a powerfully energizing group hug of about 30 university students. Again one will hesitantly come for a hug at the insistence of the others and then return to them with his reaction which was “This was the best hug I’ve ever had in my life’ This must have been a meeting point because others would arrive and join one of the two groups that had settled on the benches on either side of me. The new arrivals would be told to go and get a hug. And they would come and walk away amazed. Eventually they all came for hugs and some several times. One girl asked me to hold her forever. I gave here a very long tender hug. Several of the young men wanted long hugs as well and I complied. At one point the flow had stopped, I was again in stillness and they were each in their groups on either side of me. I was not certain at this point if they were together but I thought the energy is right for a giant group hug. So I boldly walked to the center of the Square and asked if they were all part of the same group, they were, so I invited them to do a group hug. Their enthusiasm was overwhelming they all ran to me simultaneously and surrounded me into a tight huddle. We all shouted with joy and as the shouts abated and silence set in I said to them “This is a defining moment in your day, remember it.” Some returned for more individual hugs and slowly they all left with an excited glow about them.

I was quite moved by the genuineness of their hugs and the sincerity of their appreciation for the hugs that they received. To watch them hug each other afterwards even the young men between each other. It was beautiful to watch. It is these moments that make me realize how my actions affect others in a very direct and tangible way. This is quite a welcome change from the reception I received Downtown. A beautiful and uplifting weekend it was.

This week will be a busy one on Wednesday I am acting in a docu-drama about slavery on sugar plantations in 1780 and on Friday I am throwing myself a birthday party. If the weather is warm and sunny this week I will go busking at that square from 12 to 6pm.

For those who can’t afford to buy happiness!

Ahhh, Shooting day! I am excited there is good energy in the air and besides I am back on my Square in Old Montreal. The energy is so much better here. It is festive and vibrant, with a breeze of serenity that flows through.

We captured some wonderful moments on video. The best was a monumental Cinnamon Roll Hug with a team of 20 or so cross-country runners from Massachusetts. At first they came up one at a time as usual with a lot of hesitancy then as they realized that I was really giving heartfelt hugs with no strings attached they all began to come. I had the feeling that this would become a giant group hug, which it very quickly did. However I proposed to them that I show them the Cinnamon Roll Hug which they were very keen on doing. So we did it. It was quite a joyful experience.

This group of athletes were awesome they really appreciated the experience. Their coach showed us the t-shirt he was wearing. It had the team motto written on it “There is NO AWKWARD hug for a team”. Again I am amazed at how these magical moments have been brought to me while we were filming. I offer my gratitude to God for all these delightfully touching moments. I hope that the film will be as uplifting to those who watch as it is to us who have participated in it. I have had a happy day.

‘To rush sadly through life or to stop and embrace it’s beauty! It’s your choice!

I was downtown at 11am on this warm sunny day. The streets were relatively quite for a Thursday morning. I place myself in front of the Montreal Trust building, away from the mad artist on the corner. I was not in the mood to deal with him today. Anyway we were suppose to shoot sequences of my documentary later this afternoon to capture some of the downtown energy. As the trickle of pedestrians grew so did the beggars, peddlers, preachers and artisans. I found myself one of many who lined the side walk plying their wares. There was every thing from ‘Your name on a grain of rice!’, to bottle cap jewellry, to painted photographs of the city, to God Will Save You!, to toothpaste babes, to pitiful beggars, to legless veterans and finally me with my heartfelt hugs. There we were all of us on the same sidewalk side by side vying for the attention of people who were hurried, harried and hungry to fill an insatiable inner void with material pleasures.

As I looked around at one point I realized that there was so much going on to attract peoples attention and wallets, with all the store windows, billboards, street hawkers and such that to many I just became another guy trying to con them out of a dollar with a sentimental concept. What made me sad and angry as well was that most of those that passed me by looked so sad and weary, with eyes downcast and shoulders bent forward. I just wanted to shout at them, to shake them to wake them up so they would just stop for a moment and really see the beauty of this day. I really wanted to hug all these unhappy people who just refused to acknowledge let alone give in to their need of tender loving. As a person said to me once “If I hug you I might just break down and weep and I can’t allow myself to do that.” What a sad state many of us are in. Though Downtown is where hugs are most needed as I can not satisfy my creative or financial needs there. I was beginning to feel like a hawker of hugs and I did not like that at all. One bright spot was that my sweet friend Rosy happened by and lifted my spirits as she always does.

My Downtown experience was not successful at all. In six hours I gave 10 hugs and made barely enough to buy lunch. The response has been this dismal each time I have tried it here so I have decided to forget about offering hugs downtown and find a more receptive crowd.

If I make you smile or laugh or feel good then share it with others!

How we act or react towards others as we go about our daily lives is important. Not only to our own peace of mind but to shaping our society as a whole. Offering a smile, a laugh or friendly gesture to others, for no other reason then to make them feel good as well is what makes for a meaningful living. At least that is how I like to approach my life. Being a professional observer of human nature I have witnessed and experienced first hand the echo effect that one individual’s words, actions or attitude has on the others. It is direct and immediate even if it is on a very subtle level. That is why I delight in the concept of ‘spontaneous acts of loving kindness’. The sharing of unconditional love in a very public setting is fascinating yet disconcerting for many of us. We are so used to have invisible strings attached to the love that we give or receive that to receive love with out expectation or attachments is quite normal. How unfortunate but we are the products of the society we have chosen to embrace. It is always up to each of us individually to seek out the changes that we need to heal and nurture our being and our soul.

It is not that we live in a loveless society it is that we have become too weary and even fearful of our capacity to love.

Changing my world one hug at a time!

The video footage that was shot so far has turned out ok. I am pleased with the content that was captured, though the quality of image and sound does not meet the professional standards that I had hoped for. This footage will at least make for a decent demo. I'll be shootinig a lot of setups today. my walk from my loft through the streets of the Old City going to Place Jacques Cartier was one of the main shots. Then up at my performance spot setting up my chalkboards and suitcases for the day. It was a lot of fun. it was guerrilla filmmaking at it’s finest. Shoot what you can and run to the next set up before anyone knows that you were shooting.

There were two wonderful moment that that only providence could provide. First a young woman who had passed by me a week before came looking for me to offer me a poem or homage that she had written for me. It was a very moving moment. A short while later a marvelous woman, who was wheelchair bound, came to see me. She had heard about this strange man who stood in stillness and hugged people and she wanted to meet me. We shared two wonderful hugs. She also had some beautiful thoughts to say on the need for hugs and love in the world. I am grateful that we could capture these moments as this is what has made my experience as The Hugger Busker so memorable and transformative.

It was a very busy and lively day. How I appreciate giving hugs in Old Montreal it is so very different then downtown. The public here is so much more receptive, so much more appreciative of what I have to offer then the corporate crowd.

Stress relief is just one hug away!

After 5 hours downtown and a dozen or so hugs later I wonder if this location is appropriate for me. I wonder if it is because I am on the corner of a major intersection that people don’t take the time to stop. I am thinking of trying to install myself in the middle of the block that way people may be more apt to stop. But even then the energy is so harried and stressed here. It makes me sad to watch all these pople go by who crave what I have to offer yet are have forgotten to take the time to live.

Loving my world one hug at a time. You, how do you love your world?

It has been a delightful Labor Day weekend in that the people who came to the area were in a festive, relaxed mood, but there was also sadness in the air. It is in a sense the end of the summer holidays. This is hard for many Montrealers as we have had a rather short summer season and that in spite of the beauty of autumn, we know that a long, cold winter is just around the corner.

I stayed quite late tonight as I was in a playful mood and did not yet want to leave. The evening was quite peaceful and there were still quite a few people wandering about. I had the feeling that may be this was last good weekend in Old Montreal suitable for the Hugger Busker so I wanted it to last as long as possible. The evening breeze was warm and enveloping like a comforting embrace instilling one’s being with an inner serenity. Though I strive to live in the moment with out attachment to what passes I did not want to let these moments fade into the past just yet. It was like when you have a fabulous evening out with your lover before they go away for a long trip and you just don’t want the magic to end for fear that you may never experience it again. It does not help that knowing that downtown energy will be a whole new scene for hugging.

I feel excited about the challenge of developing a suitable approach for the downtown crowd, yet I am some what fearful of them as a performer. I have been there several times and each time have I found myself discouraged, in spite of the brave face that I have put on. I wonder it I have the resolve, the stamina to face this resistance over and over again each day. Though these fears weight on my mind I shall not let them sway me. I will present a cheerful visage and an open heart and let what ever happens, become. I am determined to change my world one hug at a time even if I only give one a day. The journey continues.