The Eyes Have It.

Headline news held two striking images for me this week. The close-up pictures of the eyes of top Olympic athletes as they began each competition. And, in contrast, the eyes of the Russian soldiers preparing to demolish the State of Georgia.

In the eyes of the athletes I read determination, calculated moves, the drive to succeed and show their BEST performance, and HOPE. A great fire of depth, clarity and expectation. Dominant in the eyes of the soldiers I read a shallow, glazed-over look. Determined? Yes. Calculated? Perhaps. A drive to succeed? I couldn't see that but it might have been there. HOPE? That's what was missing in my view of their eyes.

I read the contrast between being YOUR BEST and BESTing your neighbors! A clarity in the eyes of those with their eyes on their own pre-set goals versus lack of clarity in the eyes of those who were following the goals set for them by others.

Often both sets of eyes burned into me from side by side positions on MSM's home page. Too starkly contrasted to miss. Which story did I want to read first? Which filled me with joy, satisfaction and hope? And which story shredded my heart, pulled out the protective mother bear emotions and made me want to gather up the torn bodies, lives and dreams of people whose eyes carried shock, disbelief, fear and hopelessness? A rhetorical question to which you already know the answer.

The Eyes Have It. What will you read in the eyes you encounter today and over this next week? Even those in the mirror.