The power of human touch: How are we touching and changing the lives of others

The touch of love

The power of human touch often brings about changes in the lives of others, but perhaps we underestimate its power?

We know that as human beings, we touch other people, every day of our lives, even though this may not always mean that we have physical contact with them. While the physical aspect of human touch is important, there are many, other ways that the power of human touch can bring about effective changes in the lives of those around us.

The real question becomes that of how we are touching and changing the lives of others. In other words, are we as human beings touching one another or are we touching one another in a way that is good or in a way that is not good? Hopefully, the power of human touch brings about changes in other people's lives, but in a way that is positive and constructive, not negative and destructive.

How we touch others is also in terms of their mental, emotional and spiritual health, not just the physical aspect of human touch. How they touch us and our lives is equally important, as it affects our general well being, too.

How we touch the lives of others can bring about subtle or obvious changes in their lives. These can be gradual or occur quickly. Sometimes, they can appear to be quite dramatic or traumatic in nature.

The power of human touch can lead to healing that in turn, affects the entire future lives of others. Ideally, any changes are always for the better, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.

How we touch the lives of others, affects us on the personal level, too. We feel good about the way we touch others and their lives or we do not feel good about it and may have some regrets later. Unfortunately, there are no roads backwards. Whatever we do with the power of human touch is done, whether it is good or evil. We cannot undo it.

At times, we may not even be aware that we have touched someone's life with the power of human touch. We may not know how our touch affected them, at that time and we may never know. Perhaps if we had been more aware of the power of touch and its effect, we might have done things differently.

We touch the lives of others in many different ways, partly depending upon our proximity to them. When we are near to them in a physical sense, it is different than if we are at a distance from them. A simple touch, a gentle handshake or an encouraging pat on the back, can mean a lot. Even when we are far away from them, we can still touch others with something that we say or do. We can e-mail them, send them a letter or make a telephone call to them. Whatever we do can mean a lot to others.

The frequency and degree of contact that we have with others, can and does vary. In fact, it should. No one wants or needs to be touched by others, all the time. Even those who truly love one another need time and space apart from each other.

All of this becomes secondary to some extent, in the light of the more serious question, about how we are touching the lives of others. When we are in the midst of touching them, are we doing it with love? If not, why not? If we are not touching and changing the lives of others with the power of love, should we be touching and changing their lives at all? This is an important aspect of the emotional, mental and spiritual realm.

Love is the true power that one discovers, inherent within the human touch and can pass on to others.