Is Lack of Personal Touch Bankrupting Our Society?

Studies have shown that in France and Italy individuals usually touch one another 100 times in the course of an hour conversation. In the United States that figure drops to…..3. This past week at church I heard an amazing message from a man who was visiting from Michigan. The basic premise of the message was the human need for physical touch and how it is related to the soul. He shows how through the gospels whenever Jesus was healing someone he chose to physically touch them. Though he could have just said the word, there was something deeply spiritual and yet human about that physical contact.

In our society we have backed away from physical touch. Perhaps, it is due to the fear of inappropriate touch or a general lack of formality. However, I would contend that as we move away from physically touching one another, we actually tend to move away from one another relationally and emotionally as well. A simple hug, hand shake, pat on the back, or kiss can go a long way often in showing the other person that you care.

Words are great, but they often leave us wanting and lacking. I wonder if more physical touch could possibly help tear down some of the walls we have created in society between one another. Maybe the staunch individualism and the corresponding selfishness could be slightly halted if we learned to actually let ourselves go and become warmer to those around us. Perhaps being warmer to those around us physically could not only change our own lives, but actually help change our society.

By: Will McCorkle

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