Rehab

(Feature photo by Akira Hojo via Unsplash)

Inspired by a story prompt from The One Project. “People often say “eyes are the windows to the soul” but hands are very powerful storytellers as well. Hands are so expressive and personal. Hands can reject, receive, provide, hold, and protect. The texture, wrinkles, marks, accessories and tattoos can add so much layers to the character.

For this story prompt, think of how you would like to use hands to tell a story of how you are currently feeling and create a photo depicting what that looks like to you. The hands can be either your own or someone else’s, or even both.

One fractured bone below the pinky finger, just below the knuckle, healed crooked. Sprained every single finger at least once, some several times. Badly sprained wrist, twice. Hyperextended thumb, once. And that’s just the left hand…

It’s capable of minor car repair. Playing acoustic guitar and bass guitar. Moving furniture. Dialing in the focus on my camera. Distributing hugs and high fives when appropriate. And so much more.

Despite the many injuries, my hand still works fairly well. Not quite as good as it used to, and that fracture site gets more and more sensitive to the cold every year.

But what about the mind controlling the hand? It’s suffered its share of abuse and hurts. Some accidental, in physical form. Some much more intentional and purposeful, in the form of gaslighting and manipulation. Some due to illness, with conscious and subconscious fighting for control over what may or may not be reality.

Some things that get broken can be fixed. Or healed. Or restored almost as good as it was before. But some things don’t heal, or they heal in a way that every day there’s a reminder that it’s not like it was before, and never will be again.

The human body is so fascinating. Its so complex in its ability to protect itself and heal itself, and adapt to surroundings, and learn new skills. Yet despite this incredible resilience, the human body is still so incredibly fragile.

The human mind is infinitely more so. More complex, more adaptable, absorbing and processing vast amounts of information every moment, resilient in ways most people will never grasp. And yet, it is also incredibly fragile and easily damaged.

And unlike the body, where medical science can perform modern day miracles and send you home the next day, the mind is relatively unknown. Uncharted waters. A mystery of nearly infinite proportions.

My hand eventually healed, given proper medical treatment and some time.

My mind, I hope, will eventually do the same.