“The eyes are the windows to your soul”. William Shakespeare said that, and the Bible makes mention of it, though not in those words, yet we often forget that whenever we see someone, greet them, stop and chat, our eyes convey more than our words ever could.
Once upon a time, and what feels like long ago, we interacted with one another, friends, family, and strangers face to face. Our words conveyed our thoughts, and our faces expressed our feelings. Different smiles from a gentle upslope to a ear-to-ear grin spoke of happiness, joy, and delight. A frown showed sadness, anger, and displeasure. But, it’s the eyes that tell the whole picture. When we’re smiling our eyes light up, shine brightly, and twinkle. When we’re sad, or angry they become dark and brooding. When we’re disinterested they become flat, and regardless of the color can appear faded. If our eyes are not windows to our souls, they are definitely windows into our moods, and no matter what our words say, our eyes tell a deeper story, and sometimes a different one.
Covid-19 has brought us to a moment in time where most of us are wearing masks whenever we’re in a public place. We’ve become quieter, less likely to exchange greetings. I’m not sure if it’s because with a mask on, especially homemade ones, we’re forced to speak louder to be heard through the cloth, or it’s just easier to become invisible to each other. What isn’t invisible are your eyes.
I may no longer see your face. I can’t see your smile speaking an unvoiced greeting, or reflecting a simple friendly kindness, one person to another, but I can read your eyes. We assume behind the mask no one knows, but when all we have of one another is our eyes, those eyes become the story. If you’re smiling at me, I see the twinkle in them, along with the wrinkles around the edges. If you’re angry because I messed up, and I’m walking the wrong way down the aisle, I can see the flash of darkness, and eye rolling is visible a long way off. I can see the flatness of someone just going through the motions, but most importantly, in some I can see sadness, maybe even grief. To those people I wish for my eyes to express caring, sympathy, and hope.
We are not different just because we wear a mask. We are not invisible. Don’t just go through the motions. We are still people who need each other, maybe now more than ever. So, though I may no longer be able to read your face, I am reading your eyes. My eyes are smiling at you.