It's all about Hands....

Hmmmm....It's been awhile, and, while I don't exactly have a "devout" clamoring group of followers on this blog thing, not posting something  regularly has really bugged me--for a couple of reasons...First of all, I promised myself I was going to try to write a book this year (i.e., "the year of the book")....I was actually going to take a week off, sequester myself somewhere over on the ocean and drag it out of me by the roots...well, my goal was to begin by the end of January....so, since I couldn't really end up taking that time in January; I felt this blog thing would be a nice daily exercise in getting into the writing groove...in a non-poetical sorta way...to dedicate a time each day, spending at least 20-30 minutes daily just writing whatever flies into my vacutainer/cabezita :) So I was off...writing....

Well, I got sidetracked by ending one stressful job (actually somewhat of a milestone), beginning a brave-new world jobbie job, life just sorta got in the way...hence the creative procrastination and my protracted absence from my digital paper and pen....ok, ok, so not necessarily a daily exercise, nor even weekly--but hopefully at least monthly or as "the spirit moves me" to verbally electronically unload, or upload, as it were....
OK, I did have a point that I'd like to explore, that point being my title...and it begs the question, "What about HANDS?"  

For those of you who know me, I have a thing for hands.  Truly.  Ask my friends.  Ask my family, especially my hubby....I can go out without makeup:::gasp!!!:::, slap a hat and sunglasses and jeans and sneakers--but I almost always have perfectly manicured little fingers (ok, so my fingers are quite large; as I stated previously, I'm an Amazonian), covered with a variety of silver rings ...methinks I get the "hand thing" from my dear ol' dad (who was a hand model at one time)....but, alas, I digress (again).... oh, and ya, I did make this sculpted hand, funny pic with the spare change (spurs zingers like "lemme give you a hand, need a hand with that?" HA HA!)....use it to put my loose change that I fish outta the bottom of my purse, quite HANDY::ba dum dum..CHINGGGG::::

I'm very much, a "hands-on" person, and I'm extremely tactile/touchie-feelie....I admit, it's one of the most intriguing body parts to me--very powerful, very personal, very expressive, very revealing....when I was single, and even now, it's probably the very first thing I notice right behind the eyes and voice of a person....I think about hands quite a bit, maybe to the point of obsessing, but stick with me and I'll show you my rationale...

From birth and throughout our lives, pondering hands and their symbolism and metaphors truly gave me pause to reflect and ponder just how magnificent hands are--both spiritual and physical... just let me explain....

We grasp things, meaning that we understand/comprehend/apply ideas, concepts, or anything abstract--so it implies that we literally take a hold of it, as with our hands....

We raise our hands to signal we want to be acknowledged or recognized; we raise our hands to the square to swear, take an oath, or signal things....we don't raise our FEET, or our CHIN, nor do we raise our BACKSIDES--as ample as my very own one might be....::smirkin' n wrigglin in her seat n stuff::::

We often gesture non-verbally with our hands to facilitate, support, and enhance our communication, when we get engaged or married, we symbolize that by the wearing of rings on fingers on hands--not by a spiffy new pair of shades, new shoes, or glow-in-the-dark bra (though I'm sure some have waxed that creative)....


 Of course, for those individuals that do not posess hands, they adapt and are quite skilled in utilizing alternative body parts or assistive devices to perform the myriad of activities of daily living that the vast majority of us take for granted simply by the fact that we have hands and tend to use them without a thought at all....
When we walk with someone, we tend to hold hands, depending on what your particular culture dictates, you might shake hands in greeting or meeting new people; wave your hand as a greeting or to get someone's attention, cover your hand over your mouth to laugh or cough or express shock or surprise; clap your hands in applause, approval, or to get attention; when you help someone in need, at times you offer a hand of support, of comfort, or of thanks....

These are all physical things, nothing that special, but I started thinking :::humming the line from the Smith's song, "I Started Something"::::....this got me to thinking a lot about the relationship between mind and body and spirit....our bodies and spirits are interconnected, our spirit residing within our physical body/shell....and then I was pondering a variety of spiritual concepts that seem to utilize the same metaphor of using one's hands, so it would appear that we would be using our spiritual hands, so to speak....
How interesting that stress, joy, pain, fear, anger all manifest themselves in the hands--physical manifestation of emotional states--hence the emergence of reflexology, and the interesting study of palm reading....

Why do I love hands so much-- our spiritual hands hold our physical hands on the course of our lives....when we explore what we really do with our hands--physically, spiritually, emotionally--it's quite amazing..I started wondering if I'm as spiritually "tactile" as I am physically..some of the many things we do with our hands (physically or otherwise):
We feel
we help
we touch
we heal

we reach
we love
we wipe
we write

we hold
we push
we grab
we take

we pull
we rub
we lift
we poke

we open
we turn
we close
we lock

we cook
we point
we feed
we dress
we bathe

we do
we love
we clutch
we hug

we pat
we cover
we raise
we shield
we protect

we give....

And, probably most importantly, WE PRAY....

So....what about your hands?  Think about what you've done with your hands, both physical and spiritual....are you keeping them busy enough?  Are they reaching their fullest potential?  When you reach with your spiritual hands, what do you find?  Are your hands strong enough to lead, guide, and support you throughout your life?  Do you take proper care of your hands?  Are they clean?  Are they weathered or scarred?  Are they well-rested and well-served?   Are they full of love and compassion?   

Maybe it's time to sit back and do a little "hand" reading of your own....
What's in your hands?

Copyright ©2010 by Eliza Jane Farley Gomez