Touch

Yesterday I had a fascinating hour on the phone talking to Cathy from BSO about perception of touch. It seems that one moves from a distant handshake to a growing intimacy ending sometimes in hugs. The importance of a mother and father touching you cannot be denied. When I was a teenager I was fascinated by Lawrence of Arabia's aversion to being touched and that went when I became older and I learnt about body language and what was appropriate e.g. boys in the library grabbing my arm, Muslim women. I hardly recall touching Liz's Dad although I did kiss him when he had died. It seemed appropriate as I loved him so much. How our priests need to be hugged! Xavier is a classic example.