TOUCH LIFE
by
Craig Blewett
© 2009 Craig Blewett
All rights reserved
www.touch-life.org
This book is dedicated to my God, my wife and my children
I thank God “for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).
I thank my loving wife who walks life’s journey with me, hand in hand
I thank my children, Sarah, Hannah and Joshua, my Tiny Touch Teachers, who are teaching me to Touch Life again
Before we begin
“Eureka!”
I’m sure you’ve had a Eureka-moment at some time in your life. It’s that moment when you leap from the bath, and say “I’ve got it, I’ve got it”. It’s that revelation, that sudden flash of understanding about something. It’s these moments of understanding that often change our lives, and in some cases the course of human history, as in the account of Archimedes.
This book is the result of one such Eureka-moment. There is no bath involved, although there is a beach, and I doubt it will change human history, but it may well change your life.
It happened one day as I was sitting contently on the beach near the end of a wonderful vacation we’d experienced in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. We’d enjoyed the scenic winelands, the majestic views from Table Mountain, the long white beaches, and the finest restaurants. There I sat, under a beach umbrella, sipping on a cool drink watching the waves roll gently up the shore. My eyes felt heavy, as I sank further into my chair, stretching my legs out in front of me. Yet something was wrong! Why was I tired? I’d enjoyed a vacation of rest and leisure. It was a filled with fine dining, scenic drives, panoramic vistas. I should be energized. I should be pulsating with life.
Languidly, half-dozing, I listened to the peals of laughter and watched the effervescent joy of our kids playing in the breaking waves rolling up the shore. They were enthused with energy. They were pulsating with life. Yet I was tired, tired for no apparent reason.
And then as I thought about our vacation I was struck by an obvious truth, a truth I’d never realized. Our vacation, as wonderful as it had been, had been mainly about what we saw, what we tasted, what we heard, and what we smelt. In fact there had hardly been any touch at all! There had been no hikes under the warm sun, or swims in the cold sea. There had been no picnics in grassy fields or climbs up rugged hills.
Unlike these energized, invigorated children cavorting in the refreshing waves, there was so little Touch in my life. Yet it went further than this. In fact as I considered life in general I realized how with surgical precision we, as society, have removed touch from our lives. In the gleaming sterility of our modern society with have persecuted touch at every turn. We’ve eradicated it from home, work and play. We’ve sterilized our lives. We’ve all, without realizing it, succumbed to the instruction – “Don’t Touch”.
We no longer dance in the rain, or walk in the mud. We no longer play in the waves or run in the fields. We no longer feel the heat of the sun as we labor in the open air, or the bite of the evening air as we wash in the icy river. And along with the disappearing vestiges of touch has gone our energy and vitality.
Scientists, sports experts, doctors, researchers, and many others have been telling us this for years. Constantly we read about how important exercise is, how important it is to spend time outdoors, how important fresh air is, and so on. Exercise, we’re told, is good for brain developmenti. Spending time outdoors, we’re told, enhances self-esteem and corrects eating disordersii. Walking barefoot, we’re told, promotes healthiii.
The list goes on and on. Yet there is a common theme in this advice, whether it is exercising, or having a picnic outdoors, or walking barefoot through the mud. The common theme is touch. All the scientists, sports experts, doctors and researchers are asking us to rediscover touch. Rediscover the sensation of sweat running down your face as you walk briskly up a hill. Rediscover the sensation of sitting on the grass under the shade of a cool tree as you enjoy your meal. Rediscover the exhilaration of walking barefoot through an icy mountain stream. They’re asking us to rediscover touch.
I’m sure if you consider your own life you can think back to many fond memories. I’m certain that among those that are most memorable are times spent camping outdoors, or walking over rolling hills, or gleefully playing in the surf, or swimming in a refreshing creek, or picnicking under cool oak trees or walking barefoot with a loved one on a white sandy beach, or being caught in a sudden summer downpour. These are memories of touch. These are Touch Life experiences.
This book is your guidebook on a journey to rediscover the joy, and exhilaration of touching life. It is a journey where you will remember the energy for life you once had, and discover how it disappeared. In that journey of remembering you will learn to once more Touch Life. And in this discovery lies a surprisingly untapped source of energy, vitality and even youth.
Enjoy the journey
Marvel at the discovery
Revel in the revitalization
Craig
C:-)
chapter 1 - A Touching Story
The rain was now coming down even harder – in fact the first signs of hail could be seen as the late afternoon sky was torn apart by the storm. Suddenly Alex jumped up from off the couch and raced outside into the pouring rain. The drops stung Alex’s cheeks and Alex’s bare feet were soon aware of the icy hail lying on the grass. In no time with drenched clothes clinging to Alex’s body, Alex was running wildly, like a just released animal, across the grass. After a few minutes of dancing in the driving rain, Alex plunged into the swimming pool, heedless of the wet clothes or the increased fervor of the storm. “YES”, Alex shouted to the sky, “this is the weather to be outdoors!”
The rain was now coming down even harder – in fact the first signs of hail could be seen as the late afternoon sky was torn apart by the storm. Alex looked out the window and silently groaned for not parking closer to the house. “I should have noticed the storm coming”, Alex sighed. But now as the storm reached its full fury, Alex realized there was little chance of getting to the car without getting wet. Zipping the jacket right up and huddling under an umbrella, Alex dashed outside to the car. In moments Alex was inside the car with the heating system turned on full to remove the chill from the late afternoon air. Arriving at the shopping mall Alex was thankful for the undercover parking. Alex swiftly moved towards the restaurant, heedless of the increased fervor of the storm outside. “Yes”, Alex sighed, “this is the weather to be indoors”.
So who are you - Alex who runs and dances in the rain or Alex who heads for the mall? These are two seemingly extreme reactions to a similar situation. Yet they define who we are and how we live life.
Well, let me take a guess who you are. I’ll guess you you’re Alex who heads for the Mall!
“Hey, how can you just assume that?” I hear you object. “You can’t say that – you don’t even know me!”
OK, you’re right, I don’t know you – but unless you’re a kid, which I’m relatively confident you aren’t, you’re Alex heading for the mall. Oh, I forgot to mention one little detail. You see in our stories above, Alex in the first story is only 10 years old, and Alex in the second story – well, that’s Alex all grown up!
Endless Energy
H
ave
you ever noticed how kids seem to have endless energy? Of course you
have – it drives us crazy. “Stop
bouncing on the bed”, “Stop running around like that”, “Don’t
climb on the fridge, it’s not a jungle gym”.
What is it with these little energy balls? If we could just have half
of their energy.
But then we were also kids once….Ah, remember when we cavorted around the garden enthused with a pulsating carefree energy. We were unstoppable – up the trees, rolling down the bank, into the pool, across the yard. It’s exhausting just thinking about it. Yeah, but then along came responsibility, along came work, along came life. You have to slow down, you have to ease off. What else can we do? “Just give those kids a chance – they’ll de-energize in no time!”
And sadly, yes sadly, you’re absolutely right. We might not have figured out how to transfer our kids’ energy to us, but we sure have figured out how to sap it out of them. Give them a few years, a couple of thousand hours of TV and computer therapy, a couple of hundred kilograms of burgers and pizza, a few thousand miles of air-conditioned transport, and before we know it we’ve de-bounced the kids. We’ve converted them into us!
Hey, but maybe that’s a good thing. I mean they have to grow up, they have to slow down. They have to learn to direct their attention to things that are important, like reading, writing, communicating, and learning! They need to become responsible, because one day they will need a job, they will have children – they will need to look out for their kids, just as we do for them now.
So as we move swiftly into the 21st century, generation following generation, each equipped with more “enlightened” ways, more advanced technology, more perceptive insights, we increasingly persecute Touch!
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chapter 2 - The Persecuted Sense
Ask anyone what the 5 senses are and they will quickly rattle them off.
- Sight
- Hearing
- Taste
- Smell
- Touch
Of course we all know them; we use them every day of our life. Really? Are you sure? Knowing something and using it are two different things. Yeah sure, in the past we may have used them all every day of our life, but I fear that this is no longer the case. While four of our senses are enjoying sensual overload, Touch is being persecuted. Touch is top of the endangered senses list.
“Ah, come on. Don’t be ridiculous”, I hear you cry, “Who’s persecuting touch?”
Well, you are! Indulge your sight for a while, and read on.
Let’s consider our senses. Let’s start with the sensually overindulged ones.
Sight
I suppose if you had to do the “Who’s Who” of senses, Sight would be the “Big Who”. We live in a generation that has more visual stimulation than any generation before. Consider the visual stimulation we have all around us – TV, movies, DVDs, Computers, Billboards, magazines. The average American spends more than 4 hours a day just watching TViv.