I like to be quiet.
I like to get lost in the wrinkles that hug a strangers eyes and wonder how much time he’s spent in the sun. Did he live by the sea or get a chance to hold the hand of the one he loved under that same sun that embedded itself around his eyes?
I like to sit quietly in the loudness of a busy dirt road in a foreign land and make up life stories of those who walk by.
How many scarves does she own and what made her choose the one with bold flowers and stripes and does she see herself as beautifully as I do?
Did she tie up her hair and think “damn I’m a queen” because she walks down this dirt road like royalty.
I bet she has scars in places no one can see.
Just like me.
I wonder if I pulled out my scars from their quiet place and shared them with her if she would pull hers out too.
And we could marvel at our human pain and laugh and eat food I’ve never heard of before.
And that man with the wrinkles around his eyes from a lifetime spent in the sun would walk up and hand us each a flower from his field and say something like “all roses have thorns”.
And when the sun begins to fall we’ll put our scars back in their place and keep them safe for their next human embrace.
I’d thank her for her time and her smile and her humble beauty.
I’d let her know if she ever needs me I’ll be here in quiet, making up life stories of those who walk by.

When I am asked what my goal is for this new year, I’d like to ask a question of my own first;
Have you ever looked into the eyes of a stranger and were told a story without words?
Have you ever seen the depths of one’s heart from a passing glance?
Eyes tell the truth.
If you dare to look.
Have you ever looked into the eyes of a stranger?
I have.
I’ve seen unspeakable pain in the eyes of a girl.
A girl whose witnessed the tragedy of addiction overcome her protector.
Her eyes watched the strong arms of opioids strangle the one who once gave her life.
She smiles and laughs in the safety of her classroom,
But her eyes tell the truth.
If you dare to look.
I’ve seen eyes that carry fear.
Fear that has arms and legs and lives in the dark space of widened pupils,
Waiting to jerk its host,
left and right into isolation,
left and right into depression,
left and right off a cliff.
Fearful eyes are attached to a body of boastfulness.
A body that is big and bad and tough.
A body that if you get too close, it will leave you in the dirt.
Eyes tell the truth, though.
If you dare to look.
If you dare to look in a strangers eyes,
You might just be daring to save a life.
Because, fellow human,
there are eyes all over the planet that long to be seen.
Their bodies won’t show it.
Their mouths won’t dare speak it.
But their eyes tell the truth.
The souls of this world are dying.
Dying to be understood.
Dying to be validated.
Dying to be loved.
Dying to be seen.
And when a hurting soul is seen, a hurting soul has a chance to be saved.
So I ask you this;
Do you dare to slow down?
To throw away the typical shiny plastic goals of the new year,
in exchange for a life giving moment?
Do you dare to look into a strangers eyes?
My goal this year is unlike the rest.
It’s to know people.
Love people.
SEE people and help them feel seen.
That’s my goal.
With love,
K.