An open palm is a kind of paradox, isn’t it? It’s so inviting, so yielding: “Hands up, ” after all, is the international motion for surrender. But there’s also a parallel universe of symbolism—a sense of mystery—hidden within that soft flesh. There can be an appeal to divinity in the open palm, a belief in a higher power. Look at all those saints in Christian art, their palms raised to the sky as they exhort God. The open palm can This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Five Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 47 Alice Sheppard On dance as a channel to commune with the body—even when it hurts. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Dr. Woo Meet the tattoo artist who's inked LA. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Walt Odets The author and clinical psychologist on why self-acceptance is the key to a gay man's well-being. Arts & Culture Fashion Issue 47 A Picture of Health Xiaopeng Yuan photographs the world’s weirdest wellness cures. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Chani Nicholas and Sonya Passi Inside the astrology company on a mission to prove workplace well-being is more than a corporate tagline. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Julia Bainbridge On the life-enhancing potential of not drinking alcohol.
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