Some connections will remain in our memory till the very end. Some gestures will leave their imprint on our minds till it dissolves into nothingness.

The act of holding hands is possibly one of the most overlooked yet most profound act of grace and love we would ever create. It is a simple act that says a thousand words. Love, care, compassion. But most of all it says – trust.

I am very young and my Mother drops me to the school. The school is close to our home and we walk together. My Mother holds my hand. I have absolutely no doubt that the world is all right at that moment.

I am in college and spend so much time with this girl who is my classmate, but I am unable to articulate anything into words. I am tongue tied out of shyness, fear, embarrassment. One day she takes my hand and holds it. All doubts are gone. We marry a year after finishing studies and start our journey together. She reads all my blogs. First.

My friend has lost his Father. I have no words to share my feelings. My words will in any case fall far short of what he is going through. I put my hands on his shoulders and pat his arms. He nods and I nod and we share the grief of a thousand words.

It is my daughter’s first day at school. She is teary eyed, unwilling to go. I sit down with her, take her hands in mine and tell her – I will be waiting right there for her when she comes out of the class. Her little chest puffs up and she smiles. I quietly sit outside for a few hours.

The plane takes off from JFK and we all settle down for a long-haul flight. Somewhere in its arc below Greenland, the plane starts to shake. It starts as gradual turbulence but soon the plane is being thrown around. Flight attendants are asked to leave service trolleys in the aisle and buckle themselves. Food trays are now airborne. I look across the aisle and an old Grandma is tearing up. I am very scared now. This is just two weeks after MH370. Teary eyed, she extends her hand across the aisle and I hold it. It takes another 10 minutes for the plane to stabilize. Grandma pulls out a picture of her daughter who is waiting for her on the other end of this journey.

Life is rarely about grand gestures. It is a collage of small moments of reaching out and making a connection. Everything else is a pursuit of an individual craving that leaves no mark on anyone nor does it make any lasting difference.

So make that connection. Hold hands of someone who needs love, attention, support, acknowledgement. Maybe it’s us.

Rumi said:

“Open your hands 

if you want

to be held.” 

 

Make that circle of connection – for one day the circle may come back to us and complete its journey.