Some say that the eyes are the window to your soul.
After I watched a movie titled "A Dog's Purpose", I started to ponder if such is also the case with all creatures that have eyes. (Excluding insects and creepy crawlers.)
Soul, is a much debated topic since proving that it exists, or not, is problematic indeed.
So, for the sake of clarity, or at least a point of view, here are some definitions:
A soul is the incorporeal essence of a being, ....or something invisible and spiritual in nature that exists inside of a human being even after death, .....a name for that which which may be called the Self.
The urban Dictionary: "The energy of life existing in all beings. Exists both inside and outside of the beings physical shell as both a fuel for the physical realm and a connection to the universal life-force."
There are suggestions that the concept of a soul may have come about around the same time as humans came up with the concept of consciousness, so it has been around for quite some time.
Regardless of when the term was first coined however, most of us probably use the word in many different situations, and with our own personal interpretations of the word.
"I like the music, but it lacks soul, yeah, it a good painting but it lacks soul, he/she is a good speaker but he/she lacks soul, it's a good policy, but it lacks soul, etc.etc."
"For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?" so says a wise man according to sacred texts.
Some suggest that human beings came up with the concept of a soul to minimize the anxiousness connected to death, as in, there's a part of us that keeps on "living"after we die.
As with many problematic terms, at some point we just have to decide for ourselves, make a choice, how to interpret those problematic terms, because there are a great many terms that we use in common parlance that there is no specific or undisputed scientific data to support the existence of. For example:
Emotions, we all experience emotions of varying kinds although exactly what they are can be difficult to explain, we have value systems we adhere to that can't really be measured, we experience a sense of "Me, I, the Self" but can't really pinpoint exactly how we know what "I am" is or means, we write volumes about Love, we experience love, but when it comes to defining where it comes from or what it is exactly, we may find ourselves scrambling for terms that accurately defines it other than that it is something one "feels".
Regardless of whether there is a "soul" on display in our eyes or not, if we take out the word soul in the saying, what do we discern when we look another living being into their eyes?
"The eyes is a window to your emotional state?" (Actually, the eyebrows play a big role as well when it comes to "reading" someones face.)
Here is a collection of eyes that belongs to some of my paintings.
What do you reckon? Can you guess at what emotional states the eyes represent?
How often do we really have eye contact these days? Do we prefer to send emoji's rather than potentially allowing our souls to become "visible" through our eyes?
In my experience, there are times when a multitude of non verbally-expressed words of compassion and understanding can be given and or received through a mere few seconds of eye contact.
And sometimes, it can make a world of difference for a mother with a screaming child, or for someone waiting to see the doctor while a loved one is being diagnosed, or for someone waiting to find out if they got the job, or for someone being spoken to too harshly, or for someone looking sad or lonely, etc.etc.
Eye contact, in my view, says: "I see you" and sometimes, we may all need a little bit of assurance that we are "seen".
(And this goes for other creatures too methinks, whether they be dogs, cats, or other living beings.
Although, I am sure that in my cat's case it's more like: "Yeah, I am looking at you, you have seen me, ....now, where's my food?!!)
"Eye contact is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to make a person feel recognized, understood, and validated." (A. J. Harbinger)
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