There Is A Knowing In These Hands

I’ve watched a vessel taking shape, nested in the curve of hands, spinning and molded, moving from lump to functional form. Perhaps you've watched a jewelry maker at work, metal being folded, precious stones finding a groove, beads being strung. What was once singular parts being shaped into an ornamental whole.

The beauty found in the study of deft fingers that can make shapes from visions deep within the soul must be appreciated. When you watch stitches being woven like notes through a symphony, transforming single threads into usable forms, you know something wonderful is in the offering. These are the acts of hands full of wisdom, heart-driven, repetitive motions earnestly applied. It is easy to say that what is made by hand is made well, but harder to execute. Time and patience, learning and unlearning, missteps and back steps, sidesteps and rest: all essential parts of the journey that a maker's hands travel.

Our hands are the tools that flow and bend, that dance and weave, that move with tension and strength. I’ve also seen the end product of hands that are wisened and weary. When you pick up and have a tactile experience with something made by hand, you are now a part of the history. From origins to usage, the endless melody continues. What will you do with the treasures you find? By all means, use them and love them, but don’t forget how deeply intertwined you are with the hands of those who make.

The same hands that can form a vessel have caressed an infant, comforted a child, prepared meals, and made beds. They’ve wiped tears from cheeks, rubbed shoulders of tension, cleaned floors, changed oil. Hands that break bread, held the dying, turned lights on and off again. Hands with scars and missing members, hands with rings that serve as reminders. Every hand is an encyclopedia of knowledge, pages and pages of details often quickly forgotten.

What about you? What hands have impressed you?