Gaze is the Beginning

Gaze is the first contact.
It comes before words, before touch, before movement.
It is how the body begins to listen.

There is a kind of gaze that invites without asking.
That sees without needing.
That says,

I am here.
You are free.

Before a hug is offered, presence is felt.
And presence begins in the eyes.

The body knows whether attention creates space or takes it.
It does not think.
It remembers.
It decides.

A safe gaze is not empty.
It is still.
It does not assume welcome.
It offers it.
Quietly.
Without asking for anything in return.

Gaze holds memory.
It carries what we have learned to see,
and what we are learning to release.

It lives in the space between permission and pressure.

At safehug.me, we begin with the eyes.
Because this is where consent begins.
Not in words, but in attention.

We practice a gaze that rests.
That does not need.
That does not perform.

And only if it feels safe,
we continue.

Rumi says,

I am nothing. I do nothing. I need nothing.
And my eyes agree.