Seeing With Soft Eyes

I'm sorry I missed a week of offering you A Mindful Pause. I had more on my plate that needed tending to, but I am back this week with a pause on how we see. If you are in a place with changing seasons, it is a time of color and a great opportunity to try on this week's pause. But, even if you are not seeing colorful leaves where you are, this can still apply anytime, anywhere. 

I have been focusing lately on slowing down, doing less, being more present, and letting go (as best I can) of the habit of multi-tasking. One of the tools we can use to be more present is to see with "soft eyes." What does that mean? The best way I can explain it is to describe the difference. When I see with soft eyes, my vision is more open. I see more peripherally than I would if I was deeply concentrated and focused on a specific object, task, or direction. When we are on a computer, like I am right now, my gaze is narrowed and specific. But, if I turn away from the computer and allow my eyes to gently open more to their full range I see more color, light, and my whole being tends to soften. I take an easier breath. I relax. 

When I am busy and task oriented, I tend to get more narrow in my vision, which can be helpful in keeping me focused and concentrated, but if I stay that way even when I complete a task, I end up missing the beauty and the fullness of what is here. I remember when I lived in NYC and walked that fast pace that goes with city living, I would remind myself to look up and see more than just the direction I was going. The tops of so many city buildings are full of details that we can miss. Of course, I didn't want to seem like a tourist, but a tourist's eyes are fresh, so why not?

My invitation this week, when you can remember, is to soften your gaze. Especially when you are outside walking, but even as you move through your house, or when you are sitting in a room with your family in it, all doing different things. See what it feels like to widen your field of vision by softening in the corners of your eyes, behind your eyes, between your eyes. Let go of the furrowed brow and let the colors, light, and movement fill you and see how it subtly changes how you feel inside. Or even when you are talking with someone, what if you see them more softly, what does that do to your experience of them?

🙏
Jean