Eyes

There is a moment when you first meet someone. When you are silently sizing them up, with them doing the same. For me I start at the feet, working my way up quickly, barely a glance really. It is then, when I finally reach their face that I look into their eyes. To me, there are a lot of ways to tell what kind of person someone is. The way they walk, the way they talk, the way they look when they think no one sees them. The main way though is through their eyes. That moment when a stranger becomes a friends, a friends becomes a lover, a wife becomes a mother. All of those moments can be drawn back to a single look. A lingering stare, wink of an eyelid, slip of a tear. No words are needed, no gestures made. It isn't any secret to people who know me that I love to meet people. I love imagining what their secrets are, what types of things they have seen, where they will go in the time to come. The greatest portraits and pictures in history are the ones where I can imaging what they were thinking at the time the shutter clicked, what they hopes, dreams, fears, goals, feelings were at that exact moment.

I know that it is only Monday, but I guess I'm in a sentimental mood. So Must Do Wednesday has become Must Do Monday. Look into someones eyes when you are talking to them. And really see, don't just look. Look at a photo of yourself, stare into your own eyes. Compare what you think you were thinking with what you really though, if you can remember. Do they match up? Meet a stranger. Reunite with an old acquaintance. Take your grandparents out to lunch. And this time, ask them a story about their past. And look into their eyes as you listen. How do they light up, go dark, glisten as they speak? And imagine you are there, experiencing it with them. All of this can be done by truly seeing what you are looking at. You may just be surprised at what you learn.