truth that every one knows will be clear to us: "As a man--or a child,
for that matter--thinketh in his heart, _so he is_."

Bit by bit the thoughts of this Talk will become clear to you. You
will feel more friendly toward them. Then you will really begin to
think about hands; your own hands and everybody's hands. You will
become truthful of hand, guiding your own thoughtfully; watching those
of others carefully. And you will find that in the smallest tasks of
your hands you can put forethought, while every use to which people
put their hands will teach you something if you observe carefully. It
may be folding a paper or picking up a pin, or anything else quite
common; that matters not, common things, like any others, can be done
rightly.

By this observation we shall see hands performing all sorts of odd
tricks. The fingers are drumming, twitching, twirling, closing,
opening, doing a multitude of motions which mean what? Nothing, do you
say? Oh! no, indeed; not _nothing_ but _something_. Fingers and hands
which perform all these unnecessary motions are not being commanded by
the thoughts, and are acting as a result of _no_ thought; that is, of
thoughtlessness. Every one does it do you say? No, that is not true.
Many do these things, but those who command their thoughts never allow
it. If we never moved the hands except in a task when we commanded
them, we should soon become hand-skilled. The useless movements I have
spoken of _un_skill the hand. They are undoing motions, and teach us
that we must govern ourselves if we would become anything. Do you know
how it is that people do great things? They command themselves. Having
determined to do something, they work and work and work to finish it
at any cost. That gives strength and character.