Wot You Lookin' At?(The Eyes Have It)

By forest_for_ever

Sun, 17 Feb 2019
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2 comments
 

Wot You Lookin’ At? (The Eyes Have It)

Have you ever wondered how love begins?  How desires are fuelled and passions roused?  Well, I think the eyes have it. 

The courtship ritual has been going on for thousands of years and must be a success ( especially as there are more people alive today than have ever lived) despite its temporary nature.

‘Our eyes met across a crowded room…’ how many have uttered and totally believed those words?  The same eyes have been known to narrow in hatred, weep uncontrollably in frustration or simply stare in disbelief as their utopia is torn from them.

True, our eyes are in simplest terms navigational aids and inform us of what is right there in front of us.  We measure with them and use the information they supply to make our choices and our judgements.

Yet I want to raise the eyes profile in a vote that can only go one way; the eyes have it…

I still use a borrowed phrase from somewhere ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul’ and I believe it is true.  They tell the observer what is really inside and many a lie has been uncovered by the contradiction in a face and more specifically the eyes.

We are often made uncomfortable by someone if they gaze for too long a time or end in physical combat because of paranoia or mistrust.  ‘What you looking at pal?’ has been the opening threat in an imminent brawl or assault.

I recently observed a police lecture about knife crime and the example I am thinking of resulted in someone pulling a knife because he didn’t like the way some other boy ‘looked at his girlfriend’…

Eye contact is without doubt the most potent non-verbal communication the human psyche possesses. It can start wars, heal wounds, reassure a trembling soul, invite physical union and bid farewell.

In the poll for most important…

The eyes have it!

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Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I've been working on a poem from the same idea, Graham, but not copying!

I was interested in your points at the end about causing offence by staring etc. Difficult for those struggling to understand social cues. I remember my son (whio had Asperger's) when I told him to look at me, and he was struggling with finding that uncomfortable, staring through my eyes instead. I think eventually he learnt to 'catch my eye' and find it wasn't painful if brief (which is what it shoul be of course!).

And sometimes I wonder if part of the difficulties we have with understanding those from a different background, or country, or facial features, is that we haven't learnt to 'read' and understand each other's body language as easily.

Rhiannon

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Your description of the various feelings that looks can generate is spot on, Graham. They can mean love, passion, jealousy and even hostility. The latter attribute reminds me of the sixties when confrontational Teddy Boys used the expression "wot you looking at", trying to pick a fight. 

Best, Luigi