Survivor's Eyes

I recognized him by the slump of his shoulders, as if weighed down by all the forces of heaven and earth combined. He huddled against a chill no one else could feel, despite the fact that the sun burned outside. I noted the grief etched in his skin, in the shadows beneath his eyes. I watched as he dropped his weary head into his hands, and knew that he had fought a losing battle against too many sleepless nights. He sat silently inside hallowed walls, in a place that many come for peace, for strength, for mercy, and I watched as he unconsciously wrung his hands, rubbed his eyes. His whole body, every movement, seemed to offer a plea for salvation, a prayer for strength, for peace.

I recognized him through Survivor's Eyes.

I knew him because my shoulders had held the same weight, my body had whispered the same prayers. I recognized the grief, the desolation, the fear, and the weariness. Watching him, I was transported back to place where the days seemed to be an endless battle, and sleep was a long lost friend.

I wanted to sit beside him, take his hands in mine and tell him that I knew where he was, that I'd walked the road he was on now. I wanted to tell him that it's a cold, twisted path, full of brambles and thorns, but if you follow the light, it will lead you back to beauty and warmth. I wanted to offer words of comfort, of solace, to reassure him that the pieces of his heart can be put back together, and that the hole inside his soul will eventually close up, then scar over, then melt away. To tell him that one day he will recognize this in another, through his own set of Survivor's Eyes.

I wanted to offer something to this man, a man that I saw often but who was essentially a stranger to me. Still, it wasn't the right time or place, and so instead I offered him all I could. I spoke his name in prayer, and I sent him all the love and light and strength that the Universe had once offered me.

It's not a lot, but it's all I can do for him now. I hope that one day soon, he'll see this all through his own Survivor's Eyes.