Hands full
And a poem...
I’m still finding my way here, aware of the fact that I am probably doing this all wrong, aware that my preconception of what I wanted this space to be like is very different to what then appears on the page…
For much of the past decade, my hands have been full.
Full of things I carry upstairs as I return misplaced belongings to their rightful place.
Full as they held my husband’s hands tight on the day we said our vows and as we have found each other again in the dark at night.
They’ve clasped tiny hands and traced the outline of little fingers.
They’ve mapped the wrinkles on my relatives’ palms and held the weight of connection.
They’ve stroked sleepy heads as they finally succumb to sleep.
They’ve held ice lollies that have melted down my fingers.
They’ve clutched coats that never want to be worn.
These hands have been so full of the things that we carry with us through our days.
Full of those everyday things that we so often want to put down.
Full of things that we would rather let go of in order to lighten our load.
Having your hands full has been something that I have been conditioned to believe is negative and wrong.
But recently these hands have twitched and twisted anxiously, they’ve made me aware of the utter privilege of all that they can carry and what I take for granted.
For these hands remind me that I get to hold both hope and despair in both.
That right now, so many don’t have that privilege.
They also remind me that I can’t go empty handed to my children and say that I looked away that I couldn’t face up to what was happening in the world right now.
They remind me that through the everyday act of holding things that I have to notice, I have to witness and I have to take action, after action, after action instead of navel gazing.
What to Notice | A poem
Here’s a poem I wrote last year about noticing. You can read here or listen below…
An invitation
I invite you this week to take a moment to notice that which is around you and what you hold in your hands…
Beautiful and important. Thank you
So real and so tender 🤍