Eye Contact.
It's something we are taught as a young child. From an early age, we are taught how to find and maintain eye contact. It is a sign of respect.
As we get older, eye contact becomes other things. Eye contact can communicate other forms of emotions or thoughts. We learn eye contact can mean ....
Anger.
Confusion.
Mischief.
Flirting.
Fear.
Laughter.
Silliness.
Sadness.
Guilt.
Joy.
Excitement.
Surprise.
Thanks.
Tiredness.
Pain.
Worry.
Hope.
Blessing.
And Love.
It is incredible what you can find behind someone's eyes if you just take the time to look at them. We live in a fast paced world. We have become very inward focused. Maybe without evening meaning to.
A few days ago I needed to get my glasses fixed. I dropped them off and headed to the mall to kill time while I waited. It's been a long time since I have been in that environment. I did nothing special but walk around, grab some food, go to the restroom, and walk around some more.
I don't know if it was because I had the luxury of just slowing down for about an hour or if I was just being unusually observant but I had the chance to really notice how people interact with each other. No one really makes eye contact anymore. There is no polite excuse me, or smile, or how ya doing. Very rarely does anyone look up from the floor as they are walking! Unless they are staring at their phone and then their eyes really don't budge.
I am not going to say that everyone everywhere is like this because that would be completely unrealistic. However, I do think that in this day and age this has become the norm in most parts of our country. We aren't doing it to be rude. It has just become the normal thing to do. It has become the way we interact with each other.
Like I said earlier, I am rarely in a mall typesetting and I really enjoy being around all kinds of people. I am a people watcher! That being said, I easily walk with my eyes forward and readily make eye contact with people. I like to give a polite smile and say hello if I feel like the situation warrants it. You never know how your simple smile could brighten someone's day.
When passing another person in close proximity I was taught to say "excuse me." Whether they needed to move or not, or I needed to move or not. Whether we bumped into one another or not I was taught to say it because it was a pleasantry. I observed dozens of people passing each other in some form of line or another and not one person said it. Again, none of them were being rude, it just wasn't expected to be said.
I suppose eye contact just isn't how we communicate with each other anymore.
So how do we communicate? I do not have the answer to this. Maybe that is why statistics say we are a lonely society. I really do not know.
But I still wholeheartedly believe that eye contact, verbal communication, smiles and politeness are essential ways to communicate. I teach them to my children and I will continue to expect them of myself and my family. It makes me sad to see the way we interact with each other out there in our big world.
At the mall that day, I really felt like the people around me did not even notice what was going on around them. How much are we missing out on? How much is going on around us that we don't see? If we never look up to make eye contact with people around us how much community are we missing out on? If we never look up to see any of God's creation how much are we missing out on? Could He have a bigger design for our lives that we never see because we don't look up and make eye contact with it?
This season of rest God called us into 6 months ago has taught me so many things. His voice becomes more and more clear every day. Our season of rest has turned into a season of peace. And in this recent lesson that God is teaching me He has shown me that eye contact is another way I can show God's love to this dark and lost world.
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