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The Hand A properly developed, balanced human being is like a complete, fully functional hand. The thumb balances power. It is meant to oppose. It advances and augments our grasp. It is vital to our evolution. The forefinger stands for leadership and direction. It is the finger of military, governmental, and industrial power. It is the finger of indication and instruction. It is the finger of individuality, independence, and freedom. It is the finger of beckoning, assertion, refusal, and denial. The middle finger embodies spirituality - as organized religion and as individual pursuit; as both personal and collective experience; as power and as wisdom; as inner experience and as outward expression. The ring finger is that of interdependence, for good or ill: relationship, cooperation, sharing, strength in numbers, mutuality, reaction, bond, commitment, inseparability. Let us not discount the little finger, whose worth is not always realized... the one viewed as tiny and weak or as inferior in some other way... the deliberately neglected or the simply unnoticed... the outcast or downtrodden... the one who seems to trail behind... It is, in general, the finger of the child but also especially represents anyone labeled as the "runt". The power of the small and seemingly last is not to be underestimated. A hand would be incomplete without this finger, disfigured if it were lost or damaged. Let us, therefore, give a care for our littlest finger, whose use is varied and important. It works together with the rest of the fingers, despite how it may sometimes be judged. The palm is the cradle, the source, and the foundation. Which property of the hand emerges in an individual and the degree to which it is expressed in any given situation depends on that person's particular talents, degree of development in various areas, and personal interests and inclination, as well as opportunities of the moment and other factors. A healthy, properly maturing human being, however, has the potential for each of the properties to be represented in some way or another, both inwardly and outwardly. Each element of the hand is intrinsic to human nature. All that is in our hand is within us, and all that is within us is in our hand. |
