June 29, 2021
The topsy turvy world of this pandemic has shifted us to a state of learning. We have to capture this learning moment. We were forced to ignite our analytical brain energy to understand new and broader ways of communicating. We have to learn from this moment. The nation adopted new ways to express physical welcoming. We were no longer able to share hugs because physical touching and hugging became demonstrative expressions of the past.
Over the past 18 months, we have looked and behaved differently. We adopted new ways to greet each other with our faces partly hidden due to masking up. We had to learn how to welcome one another by tapping elbows and connecting throughout the eyes. We also had to look deeply into the eyes of others to find the soul in attempt to know the person we were greeting.
Recently, I ran into a familiar community member. We were both masked and did not immediately recognize each other. I initiated a conversation with her, not knowing who I was chatting up. I told her that I was greeting her with a smile but she could not see it due to my face covering. She smiled back from under her mask and quickly responded, “We have the eyes!” We continued our greeting and conversation by recognizing the value and use of the eyes rather than the full facial expression. During the conversation, we quickly realized that we had met some years ago. We happily acknowledged each other and I realized that I was speaking with Rashmee. We remembered that we had also set up two meetings that never came to fruition.
According to Shakespeare, the eyes are the window to the soul. It is believed that when two people meet, true connection is not from the handshake or the smile but from the depth of the stare.
Meeting Rashmee stoked up great learning. Our meeting really demonstrated the truism that the eyes speak louder than a handshake, elbow tapping or even a hug. Eye contact goes a long way when trying to make deep connection. Rashmee and I learned from the moment that true connection did not actually happen when we first met and maybe, just maybe, was the reason why the previous set meeting never did came to fruition.
We are always learning from the moment!