The Look of Love

[lillibet]

An interesting quotation shared by Jonathan Carroll:

Sometimes while I ride the subway I try to look at each person and imagine what they look like to someone who is totally in love with them. I think everyone has had someone look at them that way, whether it was a lover, or a parent, or a friend, whether they know it or not. It’s a wonderful thing, to look at someone to whom I would never be attracted and think about what looking at them feels like to someone who is devouring every part of their image, who has invisible strings that are connected to this person tied to every part of their body. I think this fun pastime is a way of cultivating compassion. It feels good to think about people that way, and to use that part of my mind that I think is traditionally reserved for a tiny portion of people I’ll meet in my life to appreciate the general public.

--Dean Spade

Comments

[gilana]

That's a really nice thought.

[dpolicar]

I do this all the time, especially when people piss me the fuck off (less often with random people on the subway, granted). More broadly, I play around with perspectives on people a lot; it's endlessly fascinating to me how what I see in people depends on how I look.

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Awww. That's *lovely*. ;-)