Look to your hands: the tears they have wiped from a grieving mom's cheeks, the scalpel they have skillfully guided in its intricate tasks, the hearts they have compassionately touched to give comfort and hope, the children they have soothed to calm fears, the meds they have dispensed to bring healing and ease pain, the shoulders they have tapped with "I care" or "well done," the bodies they have cleaned, the pillows repositioned, the scraps and butts they have picked up, left behind by careless hands, the invoices, the drafts, the memos, the plans expressing an institution in motion, the warm greetings--or sad farewells--they have delivered, -innumerable unspoken but clearly articulated messages-

Study your hands: they are extensions of your soul, revelations of your values and commitments, embodiments of your spirit, extensions of your feeling and thoughts, expressions of your abilities and talents.

Read your hands: what stories do the scars, the wrinkles, the blemishes tell are they love stories, or tragedies are they gentle stories, or horror stories are they violent, or peaceful do they extend warmly or threateningly?

Read your hands: These are my hands: personal, unique, like fingerprints the stories they tell I cannot change the stories they write are mine to create My hands, an unfinished autobiography...

Ben Breitkreuz

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