Having been without the use of my left arm/hand for the past two weeks, I have been reminded of how perfectly splendid it is to have two hands, both in working order.
I missed my beloved left hand for too many reasons to count.
Of course, there were all the expected things, like eating, writing, and flossing my teeth. But I was a bit surprised by how cut-off I felt from my creative side as a result of not being able to use my hands.
All I could do was peck away at my keyboard with my index finger, one letter at a time, and while it saved my sanity to be able to do so, I quickly realized that I like holding materials in my hands and feeling the process as something tangible and useful or beautiful emerges.
Frank Lloyd Wright said:
If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs
but the push-button finger.
And as I look around at the way people employ their hands most of the time these days, I am inclined to agree. That's why, at least for the next while, I'm going to try to remember every day why I create in the first place, and how it feels -- the beautiful process
and privilege of making with my hands.
Susan M. Hinckley
Small Works in Wool
