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Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Cariño: Big hands
By Linda Grace Cariño
I WAS rather miffed when once told by a boyfriend that my hands were big. The boyfriend examined my hand as he said this, turning them this way and that. He went on to qualify, "I mean, since you're so tiny, they're big..."
It was then that I became aware of the size of my hands and those of others. I noticed that indeed, some people had big hands, some small, others somewhere in between. I also came to realize that, yeah, for someone as tiny as I am, my hands could be smaller...
I later learned that in the world of feng shui, one's body parts are indicative of characteristics. Some faces are made for wealth, others are made for the opposite. Feet, too, speak of their owners' traits. And so on.
I also learned that big hands mean that their owner is one who grabs a big slice of the world, is able to hold much, and thus has much. And the big-handed person, too, gives much.
At another point, I listened to the indomitable Lee Kwan Yiew impart words of wisdom regarding hands. He said: "If you're going to hold out your hand, you've got to make sure that the one you're holding it out to is big enough to take it." He spoke this within a political context, but I find his advice to be applicable in a bigger one, the context of life.
I recently held out my hand to one I thought would be big enough to take it, this to end an awkward situation, and move on. My hand wasn't taken. I remembered Lee Kwan Yiew as I walked away, and mused, so much for thinking the other hand is big enough to take mine.
A part of me regretted having held out my big hand. But the bigger part of me prevailed. It was right to do that, and move on, even if I had to do so with the conclusion that the other hand was, despite the mettle I earlier credited its owner with, small.
I would suppose that in the world of politics, one should indeed never hold out one's hand unless certain it will be taken. But in the bigger arena of life, methinks one must try to hold out a big hand with the hope it will be taken. And be ready to wisely move on, whatever the consequence.
So hold out a hand this Christmas to end little strife. It just might be taken.
May this season to commemorate the Christ in us be a blessed one for all.
(December 27, 2005 issue)
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