Journey of Hands: Capturing Life Stories Through Aging Hands

Our hands authentically tell a lifetime of stories, as they portray the journey of life from the moment we are born. A baby holds its mother’s finger, a toddler reaches for new life experiences and a child’s hand rests in a grandfather’s weathered one, embarking on adventures side by side.

These hands go through various stages in life. They experience the excitement of putting on wedding rings. They become the hands of a working woman, a caring dad, an artist, a surgeon and a grandmother.

In celebration of these life stories, Senior Lifestyle is proud to bring a collaborative art project, called Journey of Hands, to our communities across the nation. This initiative celebrates the life experiences of residents by capturing the essence of their lives through photographs of their hands, paired with personal narratives.

We capture the hands that have built lives, pursued passions, held loved ones close and weathered life’s storms. This project is a cherished reflection of the lives that have impacted Senior Lifestyle and serves as a reminder of the stories that shape our communities.

The Story Told in Our Hands

Over time, our hands bear the marks of life experiences, displaying scars and memories reminiscent of days gone by, akin to the calloused hands of someone who has worked tirelessly throughout their life. Each mark narrates a tale of our life’s journey, revealing where we’ve been and the paths awaiting our exploration.

The aging hands are a testament to imperfections. Life is not always perfect but rather filled with good moments, happy memories, times of grief and everything in between. Like snowflakes, no two pairs of hands are exactly the same. As we embrace the natural aging process of our hands, we find beauty in the world around us and the hands that have told stories of the rich history of our lives.

In our communities, you will see the journey of these hands still working every day – diving into soil in one of our neighborhood gardens and nurturing delicate plants, placing puzzle pieces together, lightly playing the piano keys at a baby grand piano. They are telling the stories of a life well lived, cherished, enjoyed and happy, with moments of grief and sorrow. But we know that through the seasons of our lives, our hands change just as much as our minds do.

The aging hands we see represent the significance of the older generations’ contributions to our society. These hands have played an important role in building the nation, fighting for fairness and preparing for the future. They represent the knowledge of the past, providing guidance and encouragement to generations to come.           

Senior Lifestyle’s Journey of Hands

Across the nation, Senior Lifestyle’s Journey of Hands project is on a mission to capture the rich narratives etched into hundreds of hands. These hands, belonging to both residents and team members, hold unique and inspiring stories spanning decades. Through beautiful photos of hands, our communities celebrate each pair’s imperfections, recognizing their enduring beauty and the grace they continue to embody.

Our Senior Lifestyle core HEART values are mirrored in the hands of our residents: the Hospitality that we have shown over our lifetimes, for friends and family; the Excellence that these hands have accomplished changing the world and many lives; Appreciation for the opportunities they have given us to accomplish our dreams; Respect for the generations of hands telling our shared history; and Teamwork – the collaboration we’ve experienced with all of the people in our lives over the years.

We look forward to sharing more from Journey of Hands as we tell the stories of our cherished residents and team members, capturing the authenticity and richness of their life’s journey through the lens of their hands.

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