Community. One of my all-time favourite television shows!

In the sixth season there’s an episode that stands out to me. That whole season is fantastic, but in the sixth episode the Save Greendale Committee is transporting a giant fibreglass hand to sell after the dean bought it on an impulse. Their vehicle breaks down along the way and the group descends into chaos. Eventually Abed says something about the situation in a short speech to save the day.

I found the speech to be quite profound and uplifting. While it carries specific meaning for the show as a whole, it’s also quite applicable to life as well.

Yes, I know… A giant hand being transported by seven people in an RV… The show’s weird. But that’s why it’s such a favourite of mine! Whatever the case, here’s the full speech:

I have discovered the meaning of the giant hand.

A hand has two functions; to grip and to release. But without both of these powers it is useless. Like newborn infants we grab what comes near us. Hoping to control it, taste it, jam it into another child’s eye.

But the time we spend in control of our world is the time we spend letting go of others. Ideas, stories, pride, girls in soft sweaters, video games, buttered noodles… Grip one for too long and you lose so much that you’ve never held.

This giant hand was sent to all of us as an invitation to increase our mastery over the power to hold on.

And let go.

—Abed Nadir, Basic RV Repair and Palmistry, Community

Here’s a clip from the show with Abed making that speech.

And that’s all she wrote. For now.

M3