A few years ago I had a medical adventure with my eyes. Driving home from the doctor, knowing that I was having emmergency surgery the next day, I burst into tears. Suffice to say, everything went well and several years later I had surgery for cataracts and today my vision is almost perfect. But during those disconcerting times I reflected on the meaning and symbolism of our eyes. “Windows into the soul”, ” in the eyes of the beholder” and other such expressions kept popping up. And what were my eyes to me and what if one couldn’t see. What really is lost.
I am very dependent on my eyes. Well the reaction should be…”isn’t everyone?”
Yep, but I REALLY am an eye person. I recognize people from looking at their eyes. I converse with people thru my eyes and theirs. I have absolutely no trouble with eye contact. I am dependent on it. What I have is terrible difficulty reading lips. Remember how in elementary school especially, classmates try to communicate across a room by mouthing words or spelling sonething….alas I never, ever got what they were saying. So here’s hoping my hearing does not diminish too much.
Even strangers notice my eye contact. I have many stories of random strangers asking me for directions or some type of help. An Asian woman once on the subway showed me an address on a piece of paper and gave a questioning look. (an aside – I had no idea where this was or which train would get her there…but solicited help from others on the train who all pitched in…New Yorkers can be very kind)… In an airport in Turkey, a woman in a hajib approached me , showing me her ticket to Uzbekistan, trying to find the right gate. Thank goodness there is a universal language on boarding passes. I want to believe with great vaniety that my eyes invite people in…they show my availability .
Eyes really, really, truly speak to me. Recently I went to a high school reunion. It had been many, many years since I had “laid eyes” on my classmates. There was a lot of change in most of us but as I looked to recognize them from their name tags reflecting our younger selves and recovered a hint of recognition, it was their eyes that I recognized. Their eyes reflected so much of who they were and their spirit…and how I remembered them and those qualities not lost to age.
So I love eyes…no matter what color or shape. They provide access to the wonders of nature and people. They are the “windows to the soul”.
So is there a morale here? …not sure…just don’t neglect your eyes or the world you see thru them.
PS: the image is of Frizzle…our bantam cochin chicken! She’s got great eyes!