Hand and heart

We, certainly I, give very little daily thought about our hands or the metaphorical heart – not just the actual blood pump thing guarded by our ribcage. 

 

Lets first take our hands – not necessarily both – just one, the whole hand, will do for explanatory purposes. Our hands, in some respects, may be considered as the “reason” for our rise to preeminence in the animal kingdom. And, of course, our opposable thumb – no other animal has this feature.

 

A hand can beckon; a hand can rebuff; it can direct; a hand can caress; it can chastise. A hand can reward; it can greet; it can grip; an upraised hand – palm outward may be used to stop someone. A hand can “talk” to those who are deaf. And a hand can kill!

 

The fingers of the hand are not only astonishingly sensitive but very manipulative as well. Fingers can sense rough from smooth; sharp from blunt and can point; the forefinger and thumb that can delicately hold or fiercely grip are a uniquely human feature.

 

The heart – metaphorically – is often thought of as the seat of emotions. Vital though the physical heart is to life it is the emotional “heart” we mostly refer to. 

 

We all know what is meant when someone refers to another as broken hearted. Then the terms, heart felt; hand on heart; warm hearted; hard hearted; soft hearted; he or she has a heart of stone; she (or he) has a place in my heart; the derogatory term “blackard”, derived, I understand, from “black heart” meaning someone with little empathy, who is only out for their own gain, are all well known figures of speech. 

 

So, as may be seen, these two – hand and heart – hold pre-eminent positions in our collective lives as human beings.