The Secret Language of our Eyes

What are your eyes telling you about you?

Right around when the pandemic was starting, when things were close to shutting down in mid-March, my eyes were struggling. I vividly remember my last day of working in person. Both of my eyelids were swollen, red, and I remember my co-worker saying, “you look like you’ve been in a boxing ring.” And I did feel that way, internally, exhausted both physically and mentally.

Since the pandemic, I’ve had two more such occasions, one of which resulted in one eye swollen shut, an allergic reaction to the antibiotics that were prescribed, and an ER visit. What was causing this?! Thinking logically and practically, I could point to the contact lenses that I don’t take off nearly as often as I should, or to my dry sleepless eyes. Or was there more behind my eye woes?

I tend to think there is a spiritual connection to almost everything. I decided to check out Louise Hays’s explanation for my eye troubles. In her book, You Can Heal Your Life, she outlines the spiritual causes of physical illness and prescribes positive affirmations as their antidote. I found this listed as the cause for the sties in my eyes: “Looking at life through angry eyes. Angry at someone.”

They say eyes are the windows to the soul. Could it be that my eyes have been alerting me to the pain and anger within me? Am I angry? These days, I would describe myself as frequently mildly irritated and susceptible to unexpected explosions. So yes, I guess I have been angry, and witness to the anger of others. It seems the flames of anger have been manifesting as angry inflamed eyes. What could I do differently according to Louise? Decide to instead, “see everyone and everything with joy and love.”

If that’s what I should be doing, then I find it so very interesting that we have been wearing masks and have had no choice but to look at each other in the eyes. Perhaps it’s something we have forgotten to do. Could it be that we have been pushed to look deeper, to look closer into the vastness of each other, especially complete strangers? These days, how do you know if someone wearing a mask is angry? The squinting and contracting of their eyes will tell you. How do you know someone wearing a mask is smiling? The glimmering warmth and widening of their eyes will tell you. Contraction and expansion.

Truth. Depth. Essence. It’s all in the eyes. What are your eyes telling you?