Free Hugs Austin

Discover the Magic of Hope

Back to serious questions.  Doesn't life seem like a game sometimes?  Ever wonder if you are just a top-hat or race car on someone’s Monopoly board?  We live day-to-day rolling the dice, making the best out of the spaces we land on.  When the game is going well we are buying up properties, hotels, houses, we are demanding rents – we pass “GO” and collect our $200.  And then other times with just a few bad draws in a row from the Community Chest or Chance decks our luck can run out, we can land in jail without a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and we can run out of money.  According to the official Monopoly rules: “A bankrupt player must immediately retire from the game. The last player left in the game wins.”  Remember how un-fun it was to be out of the game watching others continue on?

What makes a game fun anyway? The stakes? The suspense? 

Consider HOPE.  Synonyms for hope are: expectation, anticipation, chance, prospect, possibility.  Isn’t that what keeps us engaged in the games we play?

What if we took the synonym of hug and “embraced” those retired from play?  What if we could find a way, a loop hole, to get those that wanted to play back in the game?  Expectation, prospect and possibility dusted off and restored to good health.

With those ideals in mind we are creating a new game.  Here are the official rules for “Upward Spiral”:

OBJECT – The object of the game is to become the player with the most points by collecting dontations for buttons and saving money.  Players will win a round when they reach 1000 points.

EQUIPMENT – A gallon zip-lock bag containing: 25 “Free Hug” Buttons, full-page Avery Stickers with the words: “FREE HUGS Buttons $2” to mount on cardboard fly signs (cardboard fly signs not included), Rules of the game, Knit Beanie Cap; ID Card.

BANK – A savings account will be established crediting one point for each dollar saved.  When a player reaches 1000 points they will be able to direct 1000 dollars towards housing, clothing, transportation, or similar transactions.

THE PLAY – Each player will start at GO

1. GO – player receives a free bag of 25 buttons
2. COLLECT – player will collect a $2 donation for each button and earn $50
3. SPEND – player may eat, drink and/or be merry with $40
4. SAVE – player will deposit $10 in savings and will be credited with 10 points.  Player will  pass GO and receive another bag of 25 buttons
   

As you may have guessed, the real game is not the buttons or the points or the hugs.  The real game is the hope - expectation, prospect and possibility.  For when hope is restored a player can choose any game.

Now we are inviting you to play the game with us.  You have the easy part.  When you see someone on the street offering buttons reach into your heart and into your pocket and find $2.  Give a donation for a button.  Get several buttons.  Give them as Valentines.  Hand one to the Starbucks man to give to the person behind you in the drive-up line.  Wear one to parties. Mail one to your mom.  Leave them as tips (extra tips – don’t reduce the waitresses pay now!). Wear one to church and put one in the offering plate.

We are all Home Under God’s Sky