Thursday, October 06, 2005

look me in the eye

i'm a fan of eye contact.

whether people are familiar or not with the concept of the eyes being the windows to the soul... it appears to be a deep truth. only the most confident, established, practiced liars can hold meaningful eye contact and speak an untruth. all the rest of us are quickly revealed in our lies by our eyes.

there's something grounding about it, too... maybe in the same way that speaking someone's name can bring a moment into focus. When i am otherwise mentally or emotionally distracted or distraught, eye contact brings me back to the reality of the matter at hand, reminding me of my responsibility to myself and to those around me (my friends, my community).

i used to be pretty picky about eyes - i had the whole "i want a girl with this color eyes" line on my intangible 'checklist.' the more people i meet, however, male AND female, i find such a beauty in EVERYone's eyes... there is absolutely nothing bland about brown eyes... there are more shades of blue than i'd ever thought... i don't think anyone should EVER need color contacts... there is vast color already available in the spectrum of eyes i've seen...

hmm... here's another thought... eye contact grounds me and brings me into the immediate situation, helping me connect intimately... yet when i am leading worship, i keep my eyes closed almost ALL of the time, because when i make eye contact with someone in the congregation, i'm pulled toward them, and if i know them i find myself thinking about how their worship experience might be at the moment...
the plight of a worship leader, i suppose... (paradox time)... to be focused on the One deserving of our praise and attention, and also be responsible for the worship experience of the congregation gathered with me...

6 comments:

Jeff said...

COMPLETELY agree

Anonymous said...

I very much agree as well. I think eye contact is extremely important, although it can be surprisly difficult to maintain... Especially if the other person is really looking at you...you never know what they might see and that's a scary thought.

I have to say too, that as the owner, daughter, sister, and cousin to several pairs of very brown eyes, I appreciate that you've decided they are not bland after all =)

Mip said...

^ yeah i know what you mean,

that's why eyes scare me sometimes...they can almost be too powerful

Anonymous said...

i wish i had 7 eyes

Kate said...

i have no problem looking you in the eye...i just wish you'd blink more, mr. roboto.

:-)

Anonymous said...

Dave, the reason I don't look you in the eyes is because you see right through me. My heart melts and I'm lost all over again. It's just too much for one man to take.