LOVE AND WORK – HANDS AND FEET

Freud said, “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.”

Most of us give an ordinate amount of time and attention to our work. Do you spend as much time cultivating the love in and of your life as you do your work? Likely we all need to refine that balance.

The other day in yoga the teacher said, “I can tell who’s been doing yoga for a long time, by what they do with their hands.” I was surprised to hear that – I naturally focus more on core strength, trying to loosen the hamstrings, and flexibility in the spine. He noted that when we are, for instance, on hands and knees, that ideally the center of the palms will not quite touch the yoga mat. Just like the arches of the feet, the hands have natural “arches” that give us lift in these positions. And there’s a different intimacy to shaking someone’s hand with a curved hand both firm and yielding vs. a high five with a flat hand or a fist bump.

We make contact with the earth through our feet. We make contact with each other primarily through our hands. Our hands and feet are our primary instruments for love and work.

Next time you go to work and next time you consider what you can do to devote more of your time, mind and energy in loving oneself and others, pay a bit more attention to your hands and your feet. They beautifully give us the gift of contact with this earth and our fellow human beings.