I was getting off the interstate yesterday and was behind an elderly black man. He was in an old beat up vehicle and I started thinking. You know, as thoughts do, you can have 72 of them in a span of 3 seconds. That is how it was for me. I thought, he seems sweet and a little unsure of his driving skills. I assumed he prob has had a hard life by the looks of his car. I imagined how he would respond if we were in public and I made eye contact with him.

I am always making eye contact with everyone and no one. You see, most people don’t look up. In this world so full of hate, I make an attempt to create a peaceful space around me, where ever I go and to whom ever I meet. I will do my best to make eye contact with you. I believe it shows we are equal and both valued the same. I imagined being in a group with him (now mind you, this all took about 3 seconds in real life) I imagined him not being treated with respect and me desperately trying to teach people that we see all the same. I imagined telling someone to close their eyes and touch his arm. With your eyes closed you can not tell he was black or that I am white by the feel of our arms. That I where the first line of the poem came into my mind.

Eyes closed and heart open

If I were to close my eyes and touch your skin I would feel no color.

If I were to close my eyes and feel your breath I would know only that you are alive.

If I were to close my eyes and feel your heart I would find the rhythm of the beat.

With my eyes closed I could feel that we are the same. We exist in the same space, each with breath in our lungs and a beating heart in our chest.

With my eyes closed I could conclude that we can do the same things with our capable arms to carry out a job and our strong legs to help walk us there.

With my eyes closed color and race do not exist.

With my eyes closed, we are the same.

But…I open my eyes….

Wait…

WHY DOES IT NEED TO CHANGE???

Why do people see others with their eyes open but their hearts closed?

Why do we see different races as strange just because it is not like ours?

If our hearts were open and lead the way with kindness, love, and acceptance, the world would be different.

Everyone is always talking about –Eyes wide open – but what if…..for just a moment…..we had our – Hearts wide open – and our eyes closed tight?

What might we “see” then?

Take a moment or a day or a season or even a life time and see people not just with your eyes opened but with your heart opened too.

-by charlene Turney

October 25, 2018.