I listened to an 🎧episode of the “We are Supported by” podcast that featured an interview with Oprah Winfrey. She relayed a story of her own chat with author Toni Morrison. The conversation was about Morrison’s realization of interactions with her children. She tended to meet them with requests to change their behavior or the way they looked. Don’t be so loud. 😞Pull up your pants. ☹️Brush your hair. ☹️Morrison’s epiphany was this: her children just wanted to see her 🤩eyes light up when they entered the room. That’s it.
Isn’t that what we all want? We hope that someone’s 🤩eyes light up when we enter the room. When I arrive, does anyone really 👀see me? It’s like the kid on the diving board yelling for the parent. Watch me! 😍Look at me! 😍See me! 😍When we’re seen, we feel valued. Someone gets us and loves us anyway.🥰
I remember a specific time that my grandmother’s 🤩eyes lit up for me. As a kid, I loved any kind of kit that allowed for creativity. One of my favorites was a monster model kit. I designed and painted creatures from some substance- not even sure what it was, but I bet it’s been banned from use by humans since my childhood. 😂Anyway, I decided to give my grandmother a 🧙♀️witch that I created. Her 🤩eyes lit up when she saw my masterpiece. She promptly put that 🧙♀️witch front and center of her china cabinet amongst the Hummel figurines and those blue Royal Copenhagen plates where she stayed for years. That 🧙♀️witch was the main thing I wanted from the china cabinet when my grandmother passed away. She symbolized a moment when I knew that I made someone’s 🤩eyes light up.
I think it works both ways. There are days when my 🌎world seems to be crumbling all around me. All I want is to see someone who makes my own 🤩eyes light up. It’s an instant feeling of comfort. The warmth in those eyes coming back at me brings relief. 😊It’s therapeutic. Certain people just have a way of feeling like 🏡home to us, you know what I mean? They don’t have to do anything. Sometimes, feeling our own 🤩eyes light up for them is enough. You know how the saying goes: a sight for sore 👀eyes.
This might sound silly, but my 🤩eyes light up when certain names come through on texts. Or when I see my kids on FaceTime. Or when I run into someone unexpectedly that I haven’t seen in forever. I can hear when someone else’s 🤩eyes light up to the sound of my voice on the phone. Have you ever noticed that? Think about how that made you feel in the moment. I bet you felt loved, cherished, valued, special.🥰
You have the power to make someone else feel that way, you know. 😊The way you feel when your 🐶dog wags his tail because you walked in the room. Just pause for a minute and fill the space with 🤗joy. What if…your 🤩eyes light up? We all need to be seen. Don’t move past those moments too quickly. Share the light in your eyes.💖
sharing the stairs 