Touch - Civi Smith

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Our skin is the largest organ on our bodies, and is the barrier between us and the outside world. We experience most of the world through feeling it (physically.) A warm breeze on our faces, the soft prickles of the grass, someone else's skin on our own. Without touch, most of the world would be lost to us, and we would be lost to the world. Touch connects us to one another. Whether it's a handshake, a hug, a pat on the shoulder. We touch to greet, love, reassure. It acts as a way to convey something to someone. We perform small acts of love for ourselves by means of touch: brushing our hair, washing our faces. 

    Touch is vital in experiencing the world. As Ackerman acknowledges, it is terrifying and alienating to lose our sense of touch, she uses being numbed for surgery as an example. Losing such a vital aspect of what makes us human, does that make you less than human? 

    Touch keeps us alive. Being able to sense a hot stove, a sharp knife, freezing cold wind, all works to keep us from getting hurt. Being able to tell the difference between whether or not something we're touching is dangerous can be the difference between life or death. 

    How we experience the world around us relies heavily on touch, one of the most vital senses. It is the difference between life and death, between love and hate. Without touch, we lose a key aspect of what makes us human, the human experience.  





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