Eff, Why Eye?

One of my best friends has a new fascination. She likes to check if your pupils are dilated. As in…when someone asks ‘is that a banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?’, she will ask the same thing when she sees pupils akin to that of a dark abyss taking over your iris. Big black dots = happy to see her. It’s endearing, albeit annoying when you see her a few times a week; but hey, it gives her a wee bit of pleasure. Recently I read the novel ‘The Joy Luck Club’ and also rented then watched the movie the next day. While I have fallen in love with the character Auntie Lindo, and furthermore the actress who portrays her character, she offered a line that was very direct yet simple and poignant. “You look at me, but you do not see me” was her exclamation. I suppose a bit like ‘missing the forest for the trees’. But oh so true sometimes. Now let’s dissect the old adage that television personalities rely so steadily on that you always look 10 pounds heavier on camera. So this I ask…does that ring true similarly for both Oprah and Heidi Klum? Ten pounds on both of my homegirls is going to look vastly different. Is the eye of the beholder really coerced into this trickery? I suppose it all comes down to ones outlook – funny pun, no? Moving on. Attached to some sort of superstition I am sure, I have a couple of girlfriends with young children who insist on pinning a hamsa evil eye thingy on the back of their clothing. This so that any wrong-meant stares that might dart towards the little tykes are either bounced off, filtered, dissipated into thin air, whatever. It’s a lovely gesture. Nobody likes evil thoughts penetrating into their aura. As some wise dude once said, I think maybe Gandhi or even JC himself…”An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind”. Undeniably brilliant and appropriate.

Toodles