the story behind your hands

pictures will tell

this statement might not make any sense to you. But pictures will tell.

and, if you are expecting a “how to read your palms”… sorry, I’m afraid you are not in the right place.

I’m currently on the train on my way to a workout class, and I found myself staring at people's hands. What they are holding, how they move, their wrinkles, the color of the nail polish…

from holding a phone in between the hands, to notes to revise for one last time before the exam (been there, done that, makes no sense) to holding a book to squeeze in a couple pages of the current read on the way to work (probably?? considering time & day), to another one holding a cup of warm coffee or a simply letting both palms rest on top of each other and the Quechua backpack, like the one from my dad but in a different color.

there is this account - @subwayhands - I love that photographs people’s hands in New York’s subway. Simple, yet intimate and powerful. The stories captured are infinite, and the only narrator here are the hands (and photographer behind the lense).

in all cases, the story is for the viewer to write. Here are some of them:

this picture makes me think about both of the people captured whispering in each other’s ears to keep their conversation intimate among the crowd. They might be getting home after a long day or be on the way to dinner, who knows. It doesn’t matter either. There is so much care and love on the way they hold their hands.

I can’t help but wonder what book this person is ready and how invested they might be. Also, are you the type of people who bites KitKat or who eats one bar at a time?

this picture recalls pause and concentration, team work and even frustration. When was the last time you filled in a crossword?

I don’t think words are needed to describe this last one. There is so much tenderness and life in this picture. The wrinkles on the hands and how the are crossed on top of each other brings so much peace and calm. Who will be receiving the flowers?

take this post as a reminder to be off the screen and look around whenever you are on the public transport. I invite to look at other peoples’ hands and come up with the fisrt story that comes to your mind, there is nothing worng or write here. Just let your imagination flow.

thank you for reading us,

L. & G.