Do not look away.
Even if their gaze burns you,
even if their soul feels like a mirror you are not ready to face.
Look.
What is it that frightens you?
The anger hiding behind soft lashes?
The sorrow stitched into a polite smile?
The wildness, the hunger, the ache you cannot name?
Or is it your own reflection,
half-seen, half-denied,
trembling in the depth of someone else’s eyes?
Look.
Not every soul you meet will be a cathedral.
Some will be ruins.
Some will be storms.
Some will be caves so deep you hear your own fears echo back to you.
Look anyway.
Search for the light, if it is light you seek.
Search for the darkness, if that is the language your heart understands.
But look.
Because in every meeting,
in every clash and crossing of glances,
there is a silent confirmation:
You exist.
I exist.
We are here, together, in this wild, trembling world.
And maybe
just maybe
your gaze will be the hand they forgot they were waiting for.
And maybe
just maybe
their gaze will unearth something in you that you had long buried.
So meet their eyes.
Not with fear.
Not with judgment.
But with the fierce gentleness of one soul greeting another.
Stand your ground.
See.
And let yourself be seen.