Touchy Feely

I think I've always been a relatively touchy feely person. Even when I was a kid I always needed to hold a parent's hand. And when co-ed college came (and with it girls) it wasn't a rare sight to see me linking arms with or greeting with a hug a close(ish) friend. Not that this is or was a girl thing - I'm also pretty feely with guys too, although possibly not with the linking arms bit.

Of course not everyone is the same. Some people prefer their space and boundaries, and quite fairly so. However, as I get older I think I'm finding it more difficult to tell which camp a particular person is in. I guess the safe thing to do is to avoid it all and keep your distance with everyone till you're sure of their feelings on the matter (possibly by seeing how they react with other people), but by then it's too late and possibly even more awkward to change your mannerisms once they've been demonstrated.

And even then there have been times I've gotten it wrong. And any excess embarrassment aside (I'm used to making an ass of myself), it is possible to offend others by invading their space (or even not invading it after they've seen me act a different way towards others). I don't care how I look, but it's a good idea to be mindful of the sensibilities and feelings of others.

There's not much one can do except be honest and open, and thus hopefully minimising any embarrassment or disrespect, and I guess that's what this blog is about. It's all a part of growing, maturing and being able to meet new people though, and if mistakes are made along the way, well, that's all a part of it innit?