News: March 7, 2025
Dear Members and Friends
Abhijit Naskar, the acclaimed author and expert on Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, wrote,
Abhijit Naskar, the acclaimed author and expert on Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, wrote,
“Life is one big prejudice,
Unless you question everything.
Perception is one big bias,
Unless you see beyond the seeing.”
“See beyond the seeing.” Seeing has been very much on my mind lately. I recently had cataract surgery, and learned that many of you have recently enjoyed the benefits of the same procedure. I appreciated being able to donate my now-useless eyeglasses.
I remember in my college Art History class hearing the phrase, “The eyes are the windows to the soul.” At that time, I only considered how it related to paintings; how the observer’s eyes might be drawn to the well-painted eyes peering out from a canvas and be pulled into the narrative of the painting. But of course, it is more than that.
The phrase “the eyes are the windows to the soul” is most often attributed to the prolific wordsmith William Shakespeare:
“The eyes are the window to your soul, or was it just an illusion, his version of what was, is or could be, conception of a thought brought into reality by the wandering of the ever-restless mind of William.”
Looking into someone’s eyes can tell you how they are feeling, perhaps even what they are thinking. So much of our emotional expression is in our eyes and face. My face has a difficult time not broadcasting how I feel, which is why you won’t find me in Vegas playing poker.
I remember a friend once telling me of running into the twin brother of one of his friends at the mall. He said it was chilling to look into the face of his friend but make eye contact with someone he didn’t know. This past Sunday, Conrad and I attended the Dallas church. As many of you know, his father had passed the previous Thursday. Many people came up to offer condolences. I was struck, while talking to one of the ministers, how his eye contact was deep, empathetic, and appreciated.
It made me think of the times I have avoided eye contact with a person on the street or train, not wanting to be bothered or asked for something. Not my proudest moments, and I realize that. I sometimes wonder if some of these folks cross busy Houston streets against the light, causing cars to slow, because it’s the only way they can feel seen.
Many people, especially those visually-oriented, will often say “see” to mean “understand”. “I see what you did there!” Those whose learning style is more auditory may say “I hear you.”
I sometimes see on social media folks asking, referring to any number of things happening in our country, “Can’t you see what’s going on?” And now we’re back to the Naskar quote I began with, linking prejudice, questioning, perception, and seeing beyond the seeing. People in our country are looking at the same events but seeing very different things.
Perhaps this affords an opportunity to remember to see, not just look at, people and situations. Not forget the importance of keeping my bias and prejudice in check while seeing events, and to really make eye contact while seeing people. With or without cataract surgery.
Holding you in hope and love,
Rev. D. Scott Cooper
Associate Minister
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston
scott@firstuu.org
