Open Hands & Closed Fists: Mitch Albom, Rabbis & Truth
I remember sitting with my wise old Rabbi once and hearing a baby scream. He looked at me and said, “Did you ever notice how babies come into the world with their tiny fists clenched?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Do you know how our sages explain that? They say that babies, not knowing any better, clench their fists because they think they can have everything.”
He smiled. “But now, look at me, an old man. How am I going to die?”
He opened his hands wide.
“Like this,” he said. “Why?”
“Why?” I repeated.
“Because as an old man I know, you take nothing with you.”
The above passage comes from Mitch Albom’s book Have A Little Faith, which was recently dramatized, taking shape in Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie form, which I admittedly watched last night (yes, I hear you snickering).
Now I know in certain, shall we say elitist, spiritual and theological circles, Mitch Albom is not necessarily considered an authority on religion or spirituality per se, and is in fact frequently characterized as a sentimental sports writer who found a second career writing insipid books having something to do with spiritually. But don’t be hatin’ people. I admit that I read Tuesday’s With Morey, and I bet you did too! Hey come on, it’s a cute book.
Anyway, when I heard the above passage paraphrased by Mitch’s wise old Rabbi in the TV movie last night, I remember thinking that it was a really profound and beautiful insight. In fact it reminded me of Tripp Fuller’s illustrious metaphor about the two ways you can go about carrying truth. Here is my version of it:
There are two ways to carry truth.
One way is with a closed fist, holding your truth tightly and securely so you don’t lose it. There are a couple problems with this method. First, when you open your hand to try and give your truth to someone else, the truth is crumpled, sweaty and smelly, and ends up having your finger prints all over it (yuck!). Second, if by chance the person your attempting to give your truth to doesn’t agree with you, well…your hand is already clenched in a fist, and it’s too easy to just go ahead and punch them right in face for not agreeing! Not a good idea.
The other way to carry truth is with an open hand. There are a few reason why this may be a good idea. First, starting with the notion that all truth is God’s truth, it’s then completely OK if your truth blows away (say for instance your truth proves to be an un-truth), because it was never yours to begin with. Second, it’s a heck of a lot easier to give your truth away to someone else if it’s carried in an open hand, a sign of friendship and comadery. Lastly, if truth is carried in an open hand it has plenty of sunlight and room to grow prosperously upward. This of course is not possible with a clenched fist.
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Photo above by Marcus Can
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