The Eyes Never Lie

There is always more going on beneath than what we choose to show the world, hiding whats within some deep recess that houses our soul. It’s a curious fact that we attempt to hide so much from those around us. For despite our best efforts, there is always more to be seen on our faces than the misleading expressions we at times choose to yield. Far down beneath these expressions in some dark confine maelstroms surge relentlessly, inciting all sorts’ of mayhem in forms of restlessness and anguish that we can often feel to be almost overwhelming. And occasionally we can find the only hint to such a disturbance through subtle notions such as an off-handed comment, a casual gesture that would seem almost natural but not quite, or perhaps even a thoughtful look that would imply more than idle thoughts. And yet somehow, something will always breakthrough to the surface in silent pleas. While something as simple as a smile can serve to mislead the world from seeing the turmoil within us our eyes cannot hide the despair and through them you will find a quiet screaming that is almost begging to be heard, to be seen. But sadly, we don’t always see or hear what others are trying to show even in moments when their eyes should reveal it all. And why is that? It's as if we tend to almost willingly blind ourselves to everything around us while we tread on deaf ears. Completely oblivious we are sightless to all but our own despair, our own anguish, turmoil, and feelings and we are deaf to all but our own pleas and issues. Almost without realizing it, we can allow our own worlds consume everything around us limiting our sight from anything or anyone to nothing but of ourselves. And I wonder… in these moments how do we ever live with ourselves, do we even realize that we are not the only ones that feel pain? There is so much of it that exists all around us but how much of it are we actually aware of? Pain can exist in many different forms ranging from large and small to physical and mental, but the universal constant is that it still hurts. Your friend, your brother, your sister, your teacher, that random kid that everyone picks on, a complete stranger that you pass on the street or maybe see on campus, at your work, anyone and everyone close and distant. Do you see their pain or are you unaware that anything is even wrong? It varies from person to person but as you would come to learn nothing is ever okay all of the time. How aware do you think you could become, how much do you think you would see if you took a moment to step out of your own world and into someone else’s? If you took the time to look with a measure of genuine intent into their eyes, you will find it startling at just how far you can glimpse into their world. In them you can see happiness, sadness, joy, anger, sorrow, fear, grief, despair amongst a cascade of other feelings and emotions which tend to show you more about a person than they would ever intend for you to see. With a simple look, their eyes will reveal to you raw emotion and already you know more of that person than you did moments prior. The eyes are tricky, they will put up on display what you don't intentionally mean to show. As a result, if you're perceptive enough you can see past the calm into their tumultuous mind where they tirelessly wage their war across unimaginable battlefields struggling between their emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Countless battles are fought beneath the facade as these unseen forces collide with each side struggling desperately. And the curious fact about this is that it is almost futile, for us to fight ourselves so vigorously at times if only to feel okay because surely our struggle will only incite more unrest and restlessness. Battles that are waged over and over and again and again resulting in this sort of unending war of attrition that chips away at your mind until it seems like nothing is okay and everything is a mess leaving our worlds in an upheaval. All of this and more simply seen through your eyes yet it hits only the tip of the iceberg of how far you can see into other worlds. I think it's interesting that they describe the eyes as the pathway to your soul because it is as if it works in just that way, as a pathway. Even in the eyes of a complete stranger, you can gleam tiny fractions of what they may be feeling and yet even with someone like your best friend, your brother or sister, some close family member or someone who you consider a close friend.. you will never see the whole picture. But with that tiny glimpse, you see more of that person than you did previously and as a result your entire perspective of them shifts and you begin to understand them if only minutely more. But it is a journey you see, down that pathway. It doesn't matter if you understand them a lot or a little, you still gained that level of understanding and already you have stepped out of your world. I wonder if I will ever feel like I am understood, it leads me to wonder if anyone feels like they are understood. Is the world just full of people who are misunderstood? I enjoy trying to understand others, I like being able to see into their worlds. It leaves me wondering what you see in my world, if you take the time to look. I wonder what it is that you see if you were to look into my eyes. Can you see all that I feel, all that I think, all that is going on that I choose to keep hidden from you? Or can you see nothing at all? Can you see everything that I see? I welcome you look, to try and to understand me and my world as I try to understand yours.

"The eyes are a mirror of the soul"--Yiddish Proverb