Ok, so this is going to be really random, but it's something from my writing class that I wanted to share. We were tasked with describing a specific hand and its characteristics, and I couldn't remember any specific hands, so I kind of cheated.
We are often told not to bite the hand that feeds us, but which hand specifically? The hand that feeds us can refer to many different hands, from the hand that signs our paycheck at the end of every other week, to the hand that signs into law the bill proposed six months prior. Or perhaps it is the hand that caresses us, comforting us as children after we fall and scrape our knee, or that graceful multi-digited appendage playing so beautifully over the ivory, creating music, transporting us to a faraway land.
Or is it a metaphorical hand, the hand of God, perhaps, guiding us through our lives. Or the person who had a “hand” in our procuring that job. But is there a common attribute shared among all of these hands?
For centuries, artists have been painting hands as parts of their masterpieces, and it is usually the position of the hand, and its posture which defines its function. Michaelangelo’s The Creation of Adam portrays God giving Adam life, but simultaneously tasking him with the awesome responsibility of forging the timeline which becomes our history. It is pointing, almost accusatorily at Adam, conveying the severity and magnitude of his gift.
And then there’s a beggar’s hand, outstretched and pleading, almost shy and unwilling, yet outstretched nonetheless, indicating his desperation, his absolute need for those few spare coins.
Or a friends hand, held out, palm up, fingers slightly curved, inviting your hand to clamp down upon it and complete a bond of friendship.
So the hand that feeds us is no one hand, with no specific set of characteristics, but a malleable form to be done with as the feeder pleases. It is not large, or small, or flat, or curled—it is what is in us, it is our generosity, our potential, our friendship, our love. It is whatever we choose to make it.
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