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According to 13th century Franciscan Salimbene of Parma, Italy, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was said to have engaged in unusual experiments, among them: "collecting orphaned babies and bidding foster-mothers and nurses to suckle and bathe and wash the children, but in no wise to prattle or speak with them". Frederick wanted to find out what language the children would speak, were they never to have heard the spoken word. For some reason he thought they would speak Hebrew, or perhaps Greek or Latin, or even the language of their true parents. Unfortunately, his experiment failed, because without the stimulation of speech or gestures or facial expressions, without the cuddling and warmth and love which inform the development of most infants, the babies quickly perished, every one.
Nowadays, of course, the beneficial aspects of touch are well known. Our largest organ, the skin, contains millions of receptors which benefit, and the heart and immune system are strengthened as well. I was amazed when I searched on the subject of "touch and healing" and was offered over one and a half million entries from which to choose. It would seem that the physical need for touch is inarguable. It is also vital for emotional health; so much so, that after I read several of these articles, I felt like running out and hugging everyone I met. Humans are such paradoxical creatures, so strong and so fragile at the same time. It made me feel strangely tender toward my own kind.
An excellent example is contained in one of my favorite movies, Ladyhawke, in which the heroic Captain Navarre (Rutger Hauer) and the beautiful Lady Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer) travel together under the curse of a wicked and unchaste bishop, who lusts after Isabeau. When the lovers flee, the bishop strikes a bargain with the devil, taking his revenge in a cruel and cunning fashion. By day Navarre is a man, traveling with his horse and a fierce hawk, of whom he is oddly protective. By night, he becomes a fearsome wolf, who accompanies Isabeau, mysterious and beautiful as the moon. Such, then, is the nature of the curse and their constant torment; always together, but never to touch while in human form!
My favorite scene takes place at dawn. The lovers begin to stir, we see the sun strike the form of the sleeping wolf, and as fur becomes flesh, Navarre turns toward Isabeau, who is yet a woman. Their eyes meet and their hands reach out. But as the sun shines through their straining fingers, Isabeau is transformed from human to bird and flies upward, shrieking her rage and grief. Navarre surges up, trying vainly to reach her, and his echoing scream stabs the viewer like a knife. It's a moment so deeply personal that it feels almost indecent to witness their pain. And all of this because they cannot touch.
When I think of the importance of touch in my own life, my brain is flooded with images of every kind, some beautiful, some not, but all of them making me the person I have become. There are people in this world, writers, inventors, poets and scientists, philosophers and entertainers and snake oil salesmen (most of whom I've never actually met), who have touched my life in ways they will never know. There are friends who have said to me, "I don't know what to say to comfort you", and then they have held me and their touch has said it all.
Off and on while I've been writing, my cats have taken turns to come and sit with me, until finally I have to pick up one of those soft, purry bundles and get an infusion of kitty love. My boyz enjoy being petted and stroked, kissed and tickled and praised, and when it's all over, the three of us share a single cigarette. But seriously, I enjoy it, the cats like it and it's good for our collective health. What a great system. People with animal companions live longer, perhaps because they have a warm, living, breathing creature in their lives, affectionate, uncritical and constant. We are designed to need one another, to reach out and touch one another. The very existence of our species depends on our touching one another in love.
It was interesting to note that when President Obama went to the meeting where he addressed the Republicans, he followed his usual pattern of behavior, even though he was facing a hostile crowd if ever mortal man did. He made a point of shaking his adversaries' hands, looking them in the eye when speaking, touching a shoulder here and there, smiling and exchanging remarks, and generally making every attempt to communicate with them on a personal, human level, coming alone and unarmed except with his intellect, his consummate communication skills and his instinctive impulse to touch.
Was there ever a time in your life when someone's touch, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, was of enormous importance? Have you ever touched someone's life in a significant way? Think about it and you'll probably have a story of your own to share.
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Wow, excellent article! I'm so into the power of touch...can't believe all those babies perished, that's so sad. But it goes to prove we all need to be coddled and loved, doesn't it?