“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.”
– Virginia Woolf, writer (1882-1941)

Part of this student-teaching experience is being observed by a supervisor who can guide me in being a more effective teacher. Their role is to offer constructive feedback and to pass on hints and suggestions that will make my transition from a student-teacher to teacher much easier. So, as I reflect on their role of watching and sharing, I can see glimpses of truth in the quote above. Yet, it is not that way at all. Their eyes and their thoughts are my guide–that just like in basketball!

I’m going to make leap here. When I was playing basketball, I was coached to not watch the eyes of my opponent, for their eyes could be a weapon of deception that might make me think they were going to move in a certain direction. In a similar fashion, I could not always count on the thoughts or pattern of thoughts (habits) as consistent indicators either, for those change. The biggest sign of my opponent’s intention was to watch his waist, for that was the direction he would go.

The way that people see me should only be a guide, not a prison. For while my actions are significant monitors of my intentions, they can betray my desire to follow Christ. They can betray my heart in much the way my lips can. Otherwise I might actually be the blameless, sinless person I want to be. Likewise, their thoughts of who I am or who I should be can also fail to honor my heart’s intention. My heart… that is what they would want to watch.

The eyes and thoughts of others should not bind, imprison or destroy me. They should guide me toward being more like Christ. At all times, if I am holding Christ foremost in my heart, the eyes and thoughts of others will help me to know whether I am truly following him.

Matthew 24:4 – Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.”