absence of touch

I wonder what it would be like to live without touch. So vital is touch that we ache in it's absence. We yearn to be touched, most especially when we have missed the warmth of human companionship. I love the softness of someone who caresses my face. I love to stroke the cheeks of my daughter while I gently lull her to sleep. I enjoy the pressure of a strong embrace and I could hold myself in someone's arms as long as they'd let me. Because it connects me to that person in a way unique and special in our relationship.
One of the reasons we marry is for exclusivity of touch. It allows us to have an open invitation to touch the body of our beloved - gently and lovingly. Those special places only we alone can venture. To remind our partner of what we love about them - the beauty of their body next to ours and how their very breath brings them into one with our being. Their smell that captures our senses. And then we touch some more.
The slowness of one's touch. The gentleness. One could touch their beloved for hours and never experience them completely. Much like the feeling of first love when your eyes simply can't stop looking into the mirror reflection of your passion. It slowly builds and eclipses into something that takes your breath away. 
We hold the hands of those we feel close - to connect in the simplest of ways to their spirit - to let them know that we are just as human as they. It evens us out. Makes us alike. We become one in each other.
I think about people who miss the beauty of human touch. I think we all have missed being touched at times. And it can be painful.  For whatever reason, living without touch for me is much like a disconnect from humanity. We can touch ourselves but there is some form of emptiness in this kind of touch. Momentarily satisfying however incredibly lonely. You're left wishing and hoping for someone to complete that missing piece.
In saying this, I think I will make an effort to reach out and touch the people who touch me with their very being. I will honor their humanity with the warmth of a simple gesture. I will give hugs freely and offer my hand in kindness and love. And we'll see if the gift is returned somehow in emotion and connection. It's all about love you know.