Look into the eyes

People that read my work often may notice a recurring theme, one that has been with me since I was a child, eyes. There is the cliche that 'The eyes are the window to the soul' but, passe or not, there is a lot of truth in the statement.

From a young age I realised that the eyes can't lie, they always give away when there is a contradiction between what is said and what is felt. They tell there is a differing position between the internal and external frame. This to me was important.

From a young age I started drawing eyes and often they had a tear. I do not think that the tear was my own although there may have been times it was, but through observation, I always felt that when that contradiction between what was said and what was believed conflicted, the eyes betrayed disappointment at the realisation, perhaps that one wasn't strong enough to speak the heart.

At these times I imagined that the self was suffering, pained at the tension between wanting to open the floodgates and place another padlock simultaneously. Perhaps this was something I would struggle with also as speaking my mind would come at a cost, but so did staying silent.

It was a trade-off position where one would have to weigh the options, investigate the advantages and disadvantages and calculate which path would lead to an improved position. Because most of the decisions are made in the split second moment, judgements are not always good as there is another conflict.

What seems best in the moment and what is best in the future is not always a straight line and often is counter-productive to reaching goals. These days, many people seem to think that pouring their feelings out no matter what is the way to go yet, this too comes with a cost. It may feel natural in the moment but as those chemicals coursing through the body subside, often regrets fill their void.

Watching the eyes one may see the struggle to restrain the emotional outbursts and from my perspective, this is something takes strength. The ability to add a delay on the reaction to the emotion has a massive advantage as it gives time to control and align positions and act well.

So often these days I see these emotional outbursts that are feelings firing through, tearing the flesh of those in their path but, are based on nothing more than a lack of understanding of a situation. Letting emotions run free does more harm than good when a situation requires tact, finesse and thoughtfulness.

The eyes may betray the struggle between the conflict but, in the long run it may be that the struggle in that moment to control was instrumental to create a better situation in the future for all involved. In some way, it is a process of delayed gratification where the satisfaction of letting it all out is tempered by the understanding that it is rarely wise to do so.

Seeing this battle rage in the eyes is something beautiful to me as it is not just restraining negative emotions, but the full spectrum available. It is the longing look across the room by future lovers, the parent putting on a brave face as their child is fearful and the goodbye as one lays a kiss on the forehead for the last time.

The eyes hold all of this when you look closely enough and in them whole lives pass in a moment. They say before death, one's life flashes before the eyes, I think that when you watch someone's eyes, you can see their life flash past your own. All of the emotions are contained within, why does one need to use words to say how they feel? That is what the eyes are for.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]