Eyes
What is it about a person’s eyes that strikes the heart so profoundly?
The color? So many different subtle hues - the light blue of a clear pool stricken with summer sunlight; the deep brown of rich, molten chocolate; the gray of dormant glaciers; the warm amber of dark liquid gold; the blue-green of the shallow end of a lively lake; the bright blue of a spring sky reflected on the surface of the ocean; the green and gold-flecked hazel of a hidden nectar in the forest. These may catch one’s attention, and every color is unique, but it is not this.
The shape? Wide, narrow, pointed, round, almond-shaped. All rimmed with lashes, light or dark, long or short, a delicate frame for a beautiful picture. But it is not this.
The skin around them? Maybe you’ve noticed it, maybe you haven’t. The eyelids that flutter and blink. The faint lines at the corners that are always laughing. The bags or shadows underneath that hint at determination, sleepless nights, or a churning mind. The way the skin shifts around the edges that tells a library full of stories, a heart full of emotions, a memory full of pictures. But it is not this.
It is the soul, the undefinable light that shines from somewhere behind the eyes, from a place no one has ever been. That sparkle of humor, the twinkle of joy, or the sharpness of sorrow, the tempest of pain. The light is always there, though at times it might be hidden or marred by doubt, grief, frustration, hopelessness, struggle. All the other things simply serve to define it and give it a medium in which to play out its wondrously complex story of love and loss and realization.
The eyes are a window to what gives human beings their individuality and superiority to every other living thing in existence. Through the eyes, you can view what God has given to each of us. You can see what makes us eternal. You can see that which He seeks, desires, loves, fights for. You can see what He died for.
You look into people’s eyes every day, but do you really see what they’re telling you?
The color? So many different subtle hues - the light blue of a clear pool stricken with summer sunlight; the deep brown of rich, molten chocolate; the gray of dormant glaciers; the warm amber of dark liquid gold; the blue-green of the shallow end of a lively lake; the bright blue of a spring sky reflected on the surface of the ocean; the green and gold-flecked hazel of a hidden nectar in the forest. These may catch one’s attention, and every color is unique, but it is not this.
The shape? Wide, narrow, pointed, round, almond-shaped. All rimmed with lashes, light or dark, long or short, a delicate frame for a beautiful picture. But it is not this.
The skin around them? Maybe you’ve noticed it, maybe you haven’t. The eyelids that flutter and blink. The faint lines at the corners that are always laughing. The bags or shadows underneath that hint at determination, sleepless nights, or a churning mind. The way the skin shifts around the edges that tells a library full of stories, a heart full of emotions, a memory full of pictures. But it is not this.
It is the soul, the undefinable light that shines from somewhere behind the eyes, from a place no one has ever been. That sparkle of humor, the twinkle of joy, or the sharpness of sorrow, the tempest of pain. The light is always there, though at times it might be hidden or marred by doubt, grief, frustration, hopelessness, struggle. All the other things simply serve to define it and give it a medium in which to play out its wondrously complex story of love and loss and realization.
The eyes are a window to what gives human beings their individuality and superiority to every other living thing in existence. Through the eyes, you can view what God has given to each of us. You can see what makes us eternal. You can see that which He seeks, desires, loves, fights for. You can see what He died for.
You look into people’s eyes every day, but do you really see what they’re telling you?