The Madding Crowd

I used to be afraid of crowds. I was so tiny (as a child) I couldn't see anything. I feared getting lost. As I got older I learned to navigate the crowds and relax my breathing.

When all the memories flooded my psyche, that old fear was resurrected. I panicked at the thought of being in a crowded place. So many people! I might be swallowed up by them -- or worse.

I still don't like crowds very much, but most of the time the panic doesn't escalate, and that old breathing technique works. I'm still short, so I've trained myself to make eye contact. Finding eyes to connect with helps me recognize that within this mass there are individuals. Some of those people, maybe most, are good, kind people with stories to tell. Individuals who need to be heard. They, too, are lost in the crowd.

The eyes are the windows to the soul they say. Even in a crowd of hurried people, eyes are the windows to the individual.

linking up with Five Minute Friday