My Hands

I was waiting for a ride. I had a few hours all by myself so I started looking at the people around me. There were all kinds of people, coming from somewhere, going to somewhere else, rushing or not, all ages and shapes and colors.

I was sitting on a chair, holding my hands in front of my chin, just watching. And then… I layed my eyes on my hands. I had like a black hole moment, where time just expanded, and the world outside faded away. I couldn’t hear or see anything else, except for my hands. I took a good, long look at them.

I’ve started using them intensively just a few years ago, when I was looking for a lamp in the shops and couldn’t find any affordable good looking enough one. I took on the chance of making the first wood lamp ever, all by myself, with nails, hammers and all the other necessary tools and materials.

Since then, a few years and lamps have passed on. I also found gardening, painting and sewing. I never use gloves, as I need to feel the soil before I decide to plant any seeds in it. The materials I use for the clothes I make need my direct touch, without any interference, before I say it will become part of an end product. And the most I enjoy is painting with my bare hands. I simply feel the painting covering the canvas, I feel its texture and thickness on the cloth. I use my hands daily and they got through a lot until now! I never avoid giving a hand to help save an old object, clean time that covers the surfaces, add a touch of new and fresh on different pieces of handmade decorations.

I never took such a good look at my hands before. I always thought they could have looked better, had been better if I had nails of different shape and size so I could polish them, were definetly not picture perfect. But… they got me through all of my life. I have taken them for granted, missjudged them, didn’t give them enough credit. And then, a thought stroke me:

As long as I have my hands, there is nothing I can’t do!

These hands, that I have forgotten some time ago, are always there for me, have never failed me, and can still do a lot more. It is time we showed more gratittude to ourselves and to our own talents and capabilities. Often times we forget and mistreat ourselves, exactly the ones that will never fail or leave us.