Today’s article is a guest post by Josh Hanagarne from World’s Strongest Librarian. Read this post with reflection; it says much more about humanity than may appear at first glance.
***
“And I held the hands while she died. Those hands that hit me.”
She had come into the library to check out a book on grieving. As she talked about the passing of her mother, she seemed to forget that I was in the room — or that the room existed at all.
In that one sentence I heard the best and the worst of humanity — all reflected in these amazing tools hanging from the ends of our arms.
She may never think of me again, but I will never forget her.
Things you can do with your hands:
1. Caress a lover
2. Brush hair out of your eyes
3. Tousle someone’s hair
4. Pull someone’s hair
5. Thumbs up
6. Thumbs down
7. Give the bird
8. Bend nails
9. Hold a pen
10. Write a love letter
11. Write hate mail
12. Type
13. Paper football
14. Sign language
15. Pick nose
16. Flip a coin
17. Wave hello
18. Wave good bye
19. Encircle someone’s waist
20. Encircle someone’s throat
21. High five
22. Glad hand
23. Make a fist
24. The peace sign
25. Use that fist
26. Hold onto a kettlebell
27. Wear a wedding ring
28. Remove a wedding ring
29. Pray
30. Karate chop!
31. Paint
32. Air guitar
33. Real guitar
34. Give a massage
35. Steer a car
36. Fly a plane
37. That pen twirl thing that everyone does in meetings. I first saw it in Top Gun
38. Shadow puppets
39. Tie balloon animals
40. “Live long and prosper”
41. Tie knots
42. Cat’s cradle
43. Hold a cigarette
44. Drum on your table
45. Test the direction of the wind
46. Push glasses back onto your nose
47. Plug your ears when Celine Dion comes creeping around
48. Pull a trigger
49. Stir the pot
50. Crack your knuckles
51. Pinch that spot above someone’s knee that really makes them squirm
52. Tickle
53. Jazz hands
54. Tear the pages from a book
55. Left click
56. Right click
57. Make a snowball
58. Knead dough
59. Count money
60. Text messages
61. Keep a journal
62. Write a letter
63. Dribble a basketball
64. Shake a bottle of mustard to get the rest out
65. Flick a lighter
66. Pick an apple
67. Throw stones
68. Skip stones
69. Support yourself on a banister
70. Hold onto a kite
71. Dial a phone number
72. Call in a bomb threat
73. Eye gouge
74. Pinch
75. Twirl a baton
76. Conduct a symphony
77. Change a tire
78. Cut the brake cables
79. Floss
80. Drill a tooth
81. Turn a page
82. Fold down the corner
83. Fold a paper airplane
84. Roll a joint
85. Put in a contact lens
86. Turn up the volume
87. Tie a neck tie
88. Snip your sister’s earlobe with a pair of children’s scissors (it was my brother, not me)
89. Break the wishbone
90. Five finger exploding heart technique (or so I’ve heard)
91. Play jacks
92. Open the pickle jar
Let’s see…there have to be a few thousand that I missed…
What say you?
Photo by apdk
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Great list! I love the way you did a negative/positive spin on it… Awesome!
.-= Positively Present´s last blog ..words to live by: send it on =-.
This is such a great post. A powerful reminder that our hands are an extension of ourselves, and as such, can be powerful tools for spreading either love or fear.
@Char: brilliant.
@Positively Present: it was initally all going to be positive. But that only worked as long as I didn’t think too hard. Thanks for the kind words.
@Jay: I should have made “write Porsidan” number one on the list!
.-= Josh Hanagarne´s last blog ..Poll: What Was Your Worst Day At Work? =-.
Just wanted to thank you for another excellent post Josh. I’m off to use my appendages for the forces of good.
David,
What a great guest post you have up here today.
Josh,
This is quickly reminding me that our hands have much power in them. Power to do good or do bad. And as I think about this, and what it means to the lives of others I touch – today I choose to be more conscious of how I use my hands, and the good they are fully capable of doing…
.-= Lance´s last blog ..Sunday Thought For The Day =-.
A very interesting list and very insightful given such a simple experience that you had.
.-= Srinivas Rao´s last blog ..The power of being present =-.
@David: I’m sure you spent the day writing wrongs. Glad I could inspire you!
@Lance: Yep. Like most things, there are positive and destructive forces in something as commonplace as our hands.
@Srinivas: I’m trying to pay attention to the small things that happen. Everything has meaning. I find that often I miss out by moving too fast and not focusing on the lesson that I can get out of the smallest incident. Thanks.
.-= Josh Hangarne´s last blog ..Poll: What Was Your Worst Day At Work? =-.
What a great post. We all hold the future in our hands. What will it look like? It depends on what we think and do. Beautiful. Thanks
.-= prayerthegate´s last blog ..This Present Moment =-.
The best thing our hands can do is to lend it to others; there’s nothing more noble this. :-)
Human touch can confer intimacy, sadness, love, anger, distraction, and the list goes on. We, as people, crave the touch of others. It’s part of what makes us human.
Wonderful reminder of the power we all hold … literally in our hands. I’m typing this with much greater consciousness of that power.
.-= Ian | Quantum Learning´s last blog ..You make a difference =-.
All day yesterday I was hyper-aware of what my hands were doing, and what ends they were serving. They’re almost always right there in your field of view.
David,
Thanks for hosting Josh today. Great pick! (Sorry I’m late to the party again.)
Josh,
Thanks for your insights here today. You constantly amaze me with your ability to craft spellbinding posts from intrepid observation. Cheers!
Nice list.
How about: flip the bird to that driver of the Hummer who cut you off in traffic, or do a yoyo fabulous trick, and, of course, open a beer. ;)
What about type? As usual, great blog entry Josh.
.-= Jessica Marie´s last blog ..Ring #2 =-.
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