Hands

Elsewhere I’ve written that hands as a symbol hold a particular meaning for me. (More references I've made to hands: here, here, here, here and here.) In a nutshell, our hands and what they represent—our physical selves—are the means by which we affect our world. No matter how sophisticated our thoughts, how passionate our speech or how active our inner life we are not disembodied minds, but physical beings. Nothing surprising there, but what if I were to ask you which of your five senses you would most unwillingly part with. It seems to me that there are work-arounds for each of the other senses, but touch is irreplaceable. Without touch we are cut off and isolated. If we add to that the inability to use our hands (or other parts) we become merely observers, unable to physically affect our world. We may move others by our speech, but ultimately I would find that as unsatisfying as watching someone else pet a kitten.

Hands are meaningful symbols to me for at least a couple other reasons as well. First, hands are a symbol of man’s unique ability to create and more specifically, of my own abilities and the immense pleasure I take in working with my hands. All my abilities, such as they are, I attribute to the abundant provision of God. For that reason, when I read that we are made in the image of God—the ultimate creator—I find myself staring dumbfounded at my own open palms, amazed and humbled that he should have chosen to imprint on me, on all people really, such a powerful reminder of who he is. Even the cuts and calluses are little symbols reminding me that as awesome as we have been made by our creator, more awesome is he who created us. (And you needn’t be a theist to appreciate this, I think. The theme is classic, i.e. Daedalus and Icarus.)

(Sidebar for philosophy buffs: Even a hardcore adherent of determinism-I probably used to be one--would have to admit its shortcomings. I believe that the ability to create new information, even where it consists merely of a novel rearrangement of preexisting information is just one concrete example that “something more” is at work. Awesome.)

And finally, even if nothing’s made sense so far, certainly any reader would understand this reason why hands are important symbols for me: at the most visceral level there is nothing so powerful as the touch of another person. Newborns probably understand little more than touch and with a touch they are quieted, comforted and lulled to sleep. Our pets are forever loyal for the price of the occasional pat on the head. We hold hands when we are in love. We hold hands when we pray. We clap them when we are glad. And, of course, we make love with our hands and bodies as well as our hearts and minds.

(And please don't zoom in on the picture, copy my fingerprints and steal my identity. Please don't.)