Thought for the Week, by Mike Brock


What Do Your Eyes Speak?

“Children will see, in the eyes of the parents and teachers who raise
them, mirrors in which they discover themselves.”
–Dr. William Glasser

I once heard someone described as a person whose smile never reached her eyes. She could offer a well-practiced smile, as occasion directed, but there was no truth to the smile. It never reached the eyes.

It is the eyes that speak true. It is the eyes that carry the message of love. And it is the eyes that carry the message of indifference, or worse.

We first connect with others through the eyes, and what we see in those eyes often results in an immediate decision—to connect further through a handshake or embrace, as custom would dictate, or to withdraw. If the eyes speak welcome and joy, we naturally extend ourselves through touch. If they speak disinterest or displeasure, we withdraw. And if our common experience in looking into the eyes of others is disinterest or displeasure, we may retreat within ourselves and block out the world, entering the loneliness of depression.

What do your eyes speak to the children in your world? Do they speak openness and interest, gratitude and appreciation, enthusiasm and joy? Do they send the message of love?

What do the children in your world see when they look into the mirrors that are your eyes?