Our hands shape us
How precious our hands are.
Yet, we often don't realise it, or we take them for granted.
When you think about it, we do practically everything with our hands: we feed, clothe, guide, communicate, create, build, heal, operate... even kill. That is why, from a very young age, we intuitively learn to perfect their use, which is so complex and refined.
I find handmade things deeply fascinating: working with wood, wool, clay... but also cooking, sewing and painting. I appreciate them not only for their uniqueness and the time and effort they require, but over time I have come to realise that there is much more behind work done by hand.
Take handwriting versus typing, for example. There is a big difference between these two methods, and often, without realising it, we lose a lot when we use the keyboard. Sure, typing is practical and fast, especially in the digital world we live in today. But writing by hand offers profound benefits, and not only for the body.
Holding the pen between our fingers, feeling the pressure on the paper and moving our hand takes time. And that time slows us down, allows us to think and lets the words flow. It even helps us regulate our emotions: writing can also calm us, during moments of anger. Thought is transformed into something visible, through the symbols of letters. And so it gives us a new awareness and a different perspective: thought no longer floats indistinctly in the mind, but takes shape in front of us, while looking from above on the page.
By writing, we coordinate thought, body and emotions. The spirit guides us, and the hand becomes a marvellous, almost magical instrument that shapes our being, our desires and our needs.
Maria Montessori, pedagogist, educator and physician, claimed:
‘The hand is that fine organ, complicated in its structure, which allows intelligence not only to manifest itself, but to enter into special relationships with the environment: man takes possession of the environment with his hand and transforms it on the guidance of intelligence, thus fulfilling his mission in the grand scheme of the universe.’
With our hands, therefore, we not only create guided by intelligence, but we help build it. By learning new skills, we also learn to know ourselves better, to discover what we are capable of. We connect body, mind and emotions, and get in touch with our deepest essence. We learn to listen and let ourselves be guided... not just by the mind, as Montessori said, but - I might add - by our soul. That inner guide who knows, who is wise, and who accompanies us in the ‘fulfilment of our mission in the great design of the universe.’
All this is more evident to me today than ever before.
Unfortunately, as I look around me, I see more and more dissatisfied, disconnected, bleary eyed people... who live without living.
Perhaps it is because we are increasingly disconnected from our body and its true purpose. The body is made to be used, to move, to work hard and to go to bed tired. It is made to take time to digest, to observe, to explore and to breathe. Now, how many of us really know how to breathe? Have you ever observed your breathing? How much did your body work today?
The crafts of yesteryear - the tailor, the cobbler, the carpenter, the farmer, the blacksmith, the surgeon - are not an outdated legacy of the past. Perhaps, instead of progressing as we think, we are regressing, moving away from the real reason why we were given a body with hands and feet. Perhaps what really matters is the process, the construction of the individual and the meaning of our journey.
We must use our hands, our arms and our legs. We must use our whole body to climb the mountain... only then can we truly appreciate the view from above.
So, long live hands!
To feel more, to connect better with the environment, with people and, above all, with ourselves.
♥︎
Quote: ‘The Secret of Childhood’, by M. Montessori