our hands, left and right...

Our hands, left and right, perform an amazing array of no less than ten thousand discrete actions each day while requiring and receiving little attention unless a nail is torn or a slight splinter or cut is inadvertently acquired. And yet, the whole of human life, culture, intelligence, and shared understanding is the work of human hands. For those of us who are still making things or growing things, or playing music it can be said that the use of the hands brings satisfaction and even joy.

It can be safely said that the hands touch every facet of human existence, even to the point of giving shape to those things far beyond our own intellectual grasp. And yet we ignore the role of the hands in the design of our lives. We seek ease in which hand skills need be neither demonstrated nor acquired. We choose to avoid the labors through which the greatest physical, emotional and mental satisfactions are derived.

It's not easy to fix things. But it's possible to re-think our own lives with our hands in mind! We can re-engineer our expectations to include activities through which we can become more consciously engaged. Embark on an adventure. This year as a small adventure my wife and I added a container garden to our back deck. It's a small step. Won't seem like much. Exaggerating, we call it the "back 40." Even something as simple tomatoes growing in a pot can bring new energy to our lives. The deer wandered onto the deck and ate things we never dreamed they would eat, and so with new hopes I've planted anew. When you do things that command the attention of your hands, wonderful worlds are brought forth to open your eyes and heart, and the your passions for learning and life are awakened. Have you ever eaten something you grew yourself? Can a store-bought tomato taste so sweet?

Make, fix and create.