Eye Contact

Recently I've gotten into conversations regarding a specific habit of mine: eye contact. I personally feel as though it's one of the most revealing gifts you can give to someone - whether it's a friend, a love interest, or a complete stranger. It shows curiosity - something I have in spades. I want you to know me, if only for 2 seconds as we pass on the street. I want you to be curious, too.
Throughout my time here, actually, throughout my entire life, I've made many friends in unique situations that I will most likely never see again. Why? Eye contact. It invites people in. In a world full of people who remain inside themselves, only thinking of another destination, that meeting next weekend, the late flight; eye contact makes someone snap out of their own thoughts. Whether or not the question that arises is "Who is that?" or "Why the hell is she looking at me?", it pulls the person out of their infinite vacuum of introspection.


Eye contact, and being comfortable with it, is one of the most valuable lessons to learn. Just imagine the amount of interesting people one can meet if the other person feels comfortable enough open up. Some of the most intriguing conversations and individuals I've come across in my 19 years have occurred as a result of eye contact.
This isn't to say that eye contact only applies to people of the opposite sex. Once, while I was in Scotland I let and older woman have my seat. She looked like my Nana and I made eye contact with her, smiling - it was returned sweetly. Before she got off the bus I told her that she reminded me of my Nana, sharing also that I miss her every day. The woman, mercifully and wonderfully, gave me a hug and kissed me on the forehead. Needless to say, it was a profound experience in a mundane background - a crowded bus on the way to the airport.
I received an email from a man I met in the London airport on the way back to Florence - we struck up a conversation in the obscenely long line to pay Ryan Air for some silly expense. He's been reading my blog and offered this commentary about our chance meeting:
I noticed that, with very little effort, you were able to strike up a conversation in such un-aesthetic circumstances as a queue to pay a check-in fee.
Here's the thing, a rather hippy-ish comment if I do say so myself: everyone has something intriguing inside of them. Why hide it and why not seek it out? Eye contact.