The weather has been bitterly cold here as it has been in many other areas in Canada and the U.S.

With the promise of sunny and more temperate numbers, I donned my running shoes and returned to my daily morning walk.

Fresh air, it's told, is good for our bodies and brains. Change your route they say, change direction in your usual loop, they suggest. All in the effort to keep our minds alert.

So how many steps did I walk this morning? That really isn't a measure I keep, with head down (watching for slippery spots), I more likely consider it a good walk based on what I see. And today I found this heart.

Surely just a tread from someone's running shoe. Trampled in the not-yet-cleared sidewalk, I had crossed the street within steps of home, and it was there!

It reminded me of an article I had read recently that asked this question of readers: when was the last time you gave or received a hug from someone outside of your household? (Tweet This)

Shocking to me, most of the responses were not related to the current isolation we are all in. And sadly, the answers spoke of a long-term lack of connection. The person who said that he hadn't given or received a hug for two years. And the break-my-heart answer which said that he/she could not remember when they were last embraced.

Okay now, I know what you might be thinking. We all know someone who has consistently done what they can to not be hugable. But the number of people who said that they missed being hugged, that they did not have anyone to hug, that they never learned how to hug. Oh my goodness.

The heart I saw goes out to them. (Tweet This)

A gentle reminder that hugs are everywhere, not only wrapped in your arms. (Tweet This)

Hugs can be found in the cup of coffee paid forward for the next customer, the late night text from your adult child, the shrieks of laughter of a child, even in the holding open of a door.

Sometimes it's found on a sidewalk when you least expect it.

Accepting and giving this hug to you.

Stay well, stay kind.