The left & right hand: Self-esteem lessons from dexterity


Written by Mr Alwin Mabuza

July, 21, 2022

Have you ever tried to open a jar of pickles using your left hand? Although most people have two hands, one hand is typically more dominant in use and skill than the other.  In the medical world this is referred to as dexterity. Dexterity refers to the ability to use the hands skilfully towards completing a task (Nunez, 2022). For more than half the world, dexterity is most common in the right hand.

Interestingly, there are people who defy this norm – they are ambidextrous. That is, they possess the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. Approx. 1% of people are naturally ambidextrous (Nunez, 2022), which makes seeing such a person quite rare although not impossible. 

I remember the first time I came across one of these ambidextrous unicorns. I was so impressed by how they could begin a sentence using the left hand and complete it with equal brilliance using the right hand. It made me think “why aren’t my hands like that?”. For days I did everything with my left hand, actively trying to get it to be as good as my right hand. It was incredibly hard – even that is an understatement. I could hear my left hand saying “but I am not the right hand”. 

In an interesting way, what I did to my left hand is similar to what we do when we compare ourselves with others.  Usually we compare ourselves with those we most resemble –  rather than with those who are perceived to be far superior, or far inferior. But as great as that resemblance might be, we need to acknowledge that we are not and will never be the same. 

It is also the case that the ignoble (dishonorable) hand ought not to be vilified nor neglected by the more noble hand. We should not downplay our unique abilities or allow others to do so. Both hands are useful in their proper place. Each one has its own function and purpose. Similarly, we also should entrench ourselves in walking our own path. It would be absurd to require or expect that both hands have the same strengths – as would an attempt to have two right hands. If both hands were the same, if both had the same endowments, important functions which are now secured by the other hand would be unknown. All, therefore, are to be satisfied with their allotment in life. All are to be honored in their appropriate place.

No phrase better encapsulates this than the Zulu proverb, “Izandla ziyagezana” loosely translated as “hands wash one another”. Without the complementary nature of the left and right hand, hand washing would be impossible. In the same way our differences should not serve to crush our self-esteem but build it up in a co-dependant manner. 

As with our hands there is an identity of common interest and a perfection of separate functions. Let us also see others and their differences as builders. Like the hands, we are not equal in strength and delicacy, but each hand is happy, and each hand is necessary to the well-being of all. 

References:  

  1. Image – https://pin.it/PCGDXxw
  2. Nunez, K. 2022. How many people are ambidextrous?.  https://www.healthline.com/health/ambidextrous#how-many-are-affected.

                                                                                                         

Ubusha Bami futhi yimi lo – My youth and this is me! © 21 July 2022

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