Eyes Are Windows

Eyes Are Windows

Okay, Zoomers, do you look into the camera on your computer so that the other participants are seeing you as if you are looking directly at them or do you look at their image on your computer?

    

     I’ll be honest; I like it when people look directly into the camera. It looks like they are looking right into my own eyes. I want to do that for people, too. Yet, I feel this pull to just gaze at their face on my screen instead. 

“Eyes are windows to the soul” is a Shakespearean sentiment, and I heartily agree. Zoom (or another platform like it) is the next best thing to seeing each other right now. We are programmed for face to face interaction. I almost weep when I see those videos of children hugging each other for the first time since March. But still, there is something unusual happening on this virtual platform when we look into each others eyes. “I’m afraid I won’t see my mom for a year.” “I never realized you were such an artist.” “I have finally seriously opened the Bible for the first time in my adult life.” These are the raw, honest comments that I have heard and been witness to over the fiber optic wires of the internet since we have had to be apart.

Could it possibly be that we are becoming more vulnerable in this time apart? Is this welcomed blessing a result of us not seeing each other face to face? I don’t think so. I want to propose that we now have the opportunity to look into each other’s eyes (or the camera) instead of talking while fiddling with groceries, typing, or getting dressed. You have my full attention and I have yours. Yes, we are without body language and the communication nuances that are utilized in the flesh, but I do wonder if our decreased distractions have unearthed our truths. We can finally see into each other’s souls. 

Christianity finds its identity in a person. Undoubtedly, that person is firstly in Jesus, the Christ. Jesus shows us God’s heart. I can see this revelation more clearly in us, too when we put down our guard and attend to these matters of the heart. We are also carriers of the same God, who is love. Many would say that the Christian identifier is seen only in our action. A pandemic has slowed our outward action, but perhaps mobilized the prime act of love. We are showing each other the heart of God (1 John 4). God is the most present, least judgmental listener of all. And suddenly, I am finding those characteristics in those I share with on Zoom. This is most encouraging. Emanuel.

So, it’s no matter, really, where you look when you’re on Zoom. It’s what we’re saying, fully attentive to each other’s heart. Let’s promise to keep this practice when we can see each other again. I promise to put my groceries down and look into your eyes.