Believe it or not, I was 47 years old before I could see...emotion in people's eyes. Granted, I have never been big on face-to-face, eye contact conversations but circumstances were such, that I learned to read eyes.
It came about due to the most unfortunate of circumstances. My Eldest was in jail and our only in-person conversations took place behind a thick glass window and a phone to talk through.
Whereas our previous time spent talking together was full of gestures and sideways glances, the holding of the phone partially eliminated that and we were...forced to look at each other.
Plus our phone conversations were constantly monitored and we needed to communicate in a very new way.
We are not overt, blunt peoples who freely talk about our feelings and emotions....those used to be conveyed with touch and gestures.
It definitely took awhile to learn what his eyes were saying to me, as it was a completely new "language" for both of us. But Momma had to learn....and I did.
So I became adept at reading my Eldest, far removed thru the glass.
Then, I quite suddenly became aware of emotions in the eyes of my Partner. At first, i was clueless as to what to think or do when I say sadness or uncertainty, but I slowly learned. I can't say that I am adept with her yet, but I need to look at her face more.
It is amusing that Younglink, my nt eight year old, is fantastic at reading my face and he quickly points out when I look sad or happy. He has helped me with my own affect.
The only other person that I can semi-read is a close friend of mine. Probably because we have spent a great deal of time talking face-to-face.
It's a very cool, new way of reading a person and finding things out.
I'm not sure that I was even aware that eyes could contain feeling and meaning until this past year. Interesting
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