The way to the brain, goes through the hand

Doug Stowe’s The Wisdom of the Hands blog discusses a saying I find particularly compelling:

“The way to the brain, goes through the hand”

This isn’t a new thought, but it is particularly relevant to Scouting. (If you take the time to look at Doug’s writings you’ll soon discover that this isn’t just a saying; it has a scientific basis.) Are we at our best when we are telling, showing or doing? To my mind it’s the doing, the ‘hands on’ part of our work that is the most valuable.

Something primal in boys responds intuitively; they have to get their hands on things. A big part of the process of leaving childhood is, sadly, learning to stand and listen politely.

Standing and listening politely is just not natural. Many concepts only become real by trying things out, getting hold of them, rather than quietly observing.

Scouting is a verb. It is active, engaged and always moving. It’s not something to watch, it is something to do.

Scouting goes through the hands into the mind and into the heart as well.