The Eye Contact Phobia

     Today was my favourite day of training so far, and quite possibly one of my favourite days of my life.
     We finished up with our last anatomy session, and with that came a strange realization. This is almost over. Soon, we'll all be parting ways. Some of us back home, back to work. Some of us on to the next adventure. But none of us together. In a few days, this amazing family we have built will be saying goodbye.
     After the anatomy session was over, our instructor invited us to stand in two lines, facing each other. We were then instructed to look into the eyes of the person opposite us for 5 breaths, and read what their eyes were saying. Then, one line would shift, and you would find yourself reading a new set of eyes. At first, it was a little awkward. We would giggle and shift our gaze. But it seemed odd to me. It was only 5 breaths. Why was it so difficult to hold eye contact for 5 breaths with these people I have become so intimate with in the last two weeks? So, as I have done so many times in this training so far, I welcomed the discomfort. I opened my eyes, held my gaze steady, and breathed. By the time we got to the end of the line, I was overcome with emotion. Suddenly, I felt that I knew these women (and man), on such a deeper level than I had before that exercise. And no words were exchanged. But our souls had spoken to each other. And that was such a deeper connection than any words can make.
     Eye contact is so under rated in society today. It's so strange how people avoid it. They look anywhere but your eyes. Strangers will stare at the floor for an entire hour long bus ride if it means they don't have to look into another person's eyes. But when we get past this strange phobia and really take a minute to look into another person's eyes, it is truly amazing the things you see. Things that words alone can not express. It's a language of its own. The language that all living things can "speak".
     I challenge you to try it. Next time you're talking to someone, resist the urge to look away. Look into their eyes. What is their soul telling you?