A HUG To Cherish

The HUG Award - via A Hope For Today

“To refuse awards

is another way of accepting them

with more noise than is normal.”

[Sir Peter Ustinov]

I was presented with yet another award: “The Hope Unites Globally (HUG) Award (c) “

The HUG Award (c) is a fantastic (not just limited to bloggers) award, which initiated by Connie Wayne at Hope for Today, promoting hope, love, pace, equality and unity for all people.

It is designed for people, with an expectant desire for the world, for which they: Hope for Love, Hope for Freedom, Hope for Peace, Hope for Equality, Hope for Unity, Hope for Joy and Happiness, Hope for Compassion and Mercy, Hope for Faith, Hope for Wholeness and Wellness, Hope for Prosperity, Hope for Ecological Preservation and Hope for Oneness.

The HUG Award (c) recognises and honors those, who help keep hope alive in our current world plagued by war, natural disasters and economic recession. They nurture hope in any of the above areas by the work they do or in their personal lives with things such as blogging, public speaking, charity work etc.

As I stated above The HUG Award (c) is not just designed for bloggers, but rather for anyone, anywhere in the world, who meets the guidelines and especially nurtures hope and respects the dignity of others, without compromising their own religious, spiritual, or political beliefs.

If I felt undeserving upon receiving the other awards so kindly bestowed on me up to now, I feel especially undeserving in this case.

However, as the great Sir Peter Ustinov stated correctly, just accepting an award humbly takes away much less attention from the important things, in this case this fantastic award and all it stands for and my own nominees.

For a complete list of rules for accepting this award, please refer to the guidelines and rules of the HUG Award

I really wanted to adhere to the philosophy of this award and not bend the rules in regards to this nomination, so I decided to not just name the nominees, but rather explain, why I believe them to be deserving of this particular award.

(sidenote: You can only receive this award once, so if I mistakenly awarded you this, please let me know, that you have already received this award.)

The nominees (in alphabetical order):

365 Veterans – This lady is honoring a veteran a day for a year. I don’t believe there is any question as to her being deserving of this award.

Childhood Relived – Now obviously this lady is beyond witty, but wittyness alone wouldn’t get her this award (not even considering her track record of winning everything in sight). The plain fact is: She is inspiring. Inspiring in seeing life and childhood memories for fun they are. Inspiring in proving you can survive all atrocity in life; – even an 80s childhood.

Creating Reciprocity – This lady asks herself the important question: “How can we live together?” With all our differences in culture, religion, upbringing, economic power and knowledge where is our common denominator that serves us as a foundation of living together in peace? Her posts are informative, but above all heartfelt.

Good Humored – I have previously described her as the Aretha Franklin of comedy and I stand by that description. What I haven’t told you about Paprika Furstenburg yet is that she has a truly genuine way of perceiving the different and the unusual with a loving heart. Above all she can laugh at herself as much as at or rather with others. I truly believe that humor is one of the pillars of the hope, especially when delivered with such warmth and intelligence.

Hotdogs And Marmalade – She is the daughter to a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s, a true christian (who doesn’t feel the need to impress her beliefs on others), a wife and a mother to her children. Her warmth in her descriptions of her everyday life and the acknowledgement of a gift at the center of every adversity are humbling and inspiring.

How To Date Boys – Yes, it’s funny reading through her honest recounts of dating as 20-something-year-old in this day and age, but it’s also her true and blunt honesty especially to herself, that creates hope. Hope of true love, hope of relationships and hope that in the end there is a prince charming for every girl out there.

Quieter Elephant – He’s one of the recipients, that is harder to explain. Obviously his posts are highly entertaining, random, hysterical, enlightening and informative, but that alone would not be enough. What makes him special and truly deserving of this post is his eye for beauty in strangeness in this world. I believe that being able to see something beautiful and special in random everyday occurrences is inspiring.

Random Reasoning – This post alone and her closer look at time and the essence of how we perceive time alone will tell you two things about this lady: 1) She’s hilarious and 2) She’s an analytical thinker, who enjoys the wisdom of foreign cultures and uses lessons from the past to explain the present.

Riatarded questions our western superficial values and challenges us to grow. This alone makes her more than deserving in my book.

Sakura Lights & Strange Trip Times – Art is always an inspiration for hope, freedom, beauty and connection deeper than words and these artists, each in their own right, are no exception to this rule. On top of that they each have a message that needs to be heard. It is my honor to nominate them for this award.

Snippets & Glimpses & Terminally Beautiful Life – These young ladies both courageously shares their mind and soul with anybody who will care to look and listen. They, each in their own right, suffer from several afflictions and they face this sufferance with more honesty and grace than most people I know. They truly bring hope and grace to my days.

Susserative Aspirations – This gentleman strives to understand humanity and most importantly himself. To confront your own imperfections and to relentlesly search for understanding of every other human he encounters, to me, is inspiring on a level I can’t even begin to comprehend. I challenge you to read his resiliency series and not agree with me.

The better man project – To try to confront your flaws and become a better man and a better person in the course of a life. I can hardly imagine a more inspiring project.

The Heartbreak Of Invention – External beauty leads to admiration. Although I can’t say anything about the charms her looks hold (since she has chosen to walk this past anonymously like so many of us), I can say that her inner beauty, the glow that surrounds her, is beyond inspirational. When I grow up, I hope to become half the woman she is today.

The Priviledged Contrarian – Her views on life and especially her honesty with herself and with others are refreshing and inspiring. She connects to so many people on so many levels and seems to be able to relate to everybody with a respect for their individuality.

Worrywarts Guide To Love, Sex And Marriage – If you are here reading this, you already know how I feel about the Worrywart. What you might not have heard me say yet, how important her presence in this blogosphere has come as a moral compass – She grounds me and inspires me everyday to be better, to me more (and maybe to be less dramatic). But it’s not just me. Her wit, eloquence and honesty alone would not make a fellowship as large and loyal as hers, I urge you to go find it for yourself. You will feel better for having met her.

Thank you for sharing all that you are with me.

Thank you for making this an enjoyable journey.

Thank you for making this my home.

[ Hallelujah – performed by Espen Lind, Askil Holm, Alejandro Fuentes, Kurt Nilsen ]