The Hug Something Activity
Hug something is a fantastic exercise in pairs to sharpen the senses, promote communication and build trust.
Form pairs or ask your group to find a partner to work with.
Partners take it in turns to be blindfolded while the other leads them to a unique object approx 20-30 metres away. If outdoors, trees are ideal because of their unique characteristics, but any object of choice is fine provided it has some degree of distinctiveness about it.
The blindfolded person may spend up to 20 seconds becoming familiar with the shape, feel and smell of the object, before their partner returns them blindfolded back to where they started. Encourage the use of the auditory, olfactory as well as tactile senses.
The experience is enriched if the chosen object has some peculiar characteristics, for example, a tree with a hollow or a low branch, to assist the ‘blind’ person to identify and distinguish it from other like-objects later.
Next, the sighted person returns their partner (still blindfolded) to the starting point. With their vision restored, the blindfolded person will then attempt to relocate the exact item they were introduced to.
Obviously, the sighted person should not provide any clues as to the location of the secret object, but simply accompany their partner wherever they wander.
Repeat this process at least twice, swapping roles between rounds.
Moment of Reflection
- What strategies did you use to remember and/or re-locate your object? Were they effective?
- What senses did you rely on the most?
- How did you feel as your partner guided you to and from the object?
- What emotions were you aware of during your blindfolded transitions?
- What did you immediately perceive as soon as you touched an item? What did you make this mean?
- How easy was it to touch something you could not see? What helped you approach this task with confidence?
The topics of this publication: self, trust, integration, senses
