Handy

While being disembodied does have its advantages, there are moments when the absence of anatomical components other than my head weighs heavily upon me. My greatest sorrow is that I have no hands.

One of Herself's greatest joys is touching her loved ones: a pat of a child's hair or of a friend's shoulder is a means by which she can convey her fondness for another. The physical contact of sparring is a completely different, yet complementary, joy, for even in discomfort there is the satisfaction of endurance and conquering of self.

I am reminded of dialog from my favorite Television series, Kung Fu. It encompasses not only a reminder of the power of touch, but also a delineation of the yin and yang that arises with it.

Master Po: The hands, Grasshopper, are the eyes and the tongue of touch. Through them a man may reach out and see another's feelings, or speak his own.

Caine: Is it not sad, Master, that the hands of a man may strike a blow as well as caress?

Master Po: Pain and pleasure are like two bells, side by side. And the voice of each makes a trembling in the other.