--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It feels like days since we've made eye…" description: "\"“It feels like days since we've made eye contact. We avoid it like we expect to be injured. When did we learn to fear each other? To flinch away from w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/isaac-marion-1033_eye-contact_it-feels-like-days-since-we-ve-made-eye_1493766.jpg" --- # It feels like days since we've made eye contact. We avoid… ![“It feels like days since we've made eye contact. We avoid it like we expect to be injured. When did we learn to fear each other? To flinch away from what we imagine the other is thinking, the cruelties we've written and placed in each other's mouths?” quote by Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/isaac-marion-1033_eye-contact_it-feels-like-days-since-we-ve-made-eye_1493766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/isaac-marion-1033_eye-contact_it-feels-like-days-since-we-ve-made-eye_1493766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/isaac-marion-1033_eye-contact_it-feels-like-days-since-we-ve-made-eye_1493766.jpg) > ““It feels like days since we've made eye contact. We avoid it like we expect to be injured. When did we learn to fear each other? To flinch away from what we imagine the other is thinking, the cruelties we've written and placed in each other's mouths?”” [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People avoid direct contact out of fear of misunderstanding and imagined cruelty, creating emotional distance. **In simple terms:** We fear each other and keep distance. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge assumptions about others. Themes fear misunderstanding communication emotional distance Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - teamwork - conflict resolution - public speaking Key Concepts psychology social perception projection Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about others? - How can you foster genuine eye contact? A Different Perspective Assumptions may be inaccurate; openness can be uncomfortable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eye contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye-contact/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Flinch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-flinch-1707999/) [Flinch Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flinch-away-4384496/) [Learn Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-fear-740381/) ## Related quotes > [Behind every flinch is a fear or an anxiety - sometimes rational, sometimes not. Without the fear, there is no flinch. But wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-every-flinch-is-a-fear-or-an-anxiety-sometimes-rational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Chaos claims the unwary or the incomplete. A true man may flinch away its embrace, if he is stalwart, and he girds his soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-abnett/chaos-claims-the-unwary-or-the-incomplete-a-true-man-may-flinch-away/) [Dan Abnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-abnett/) > [From little pain you flinch away but great pain must be embraced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-gibbs/from-little-pain-you-flinch-away-but-great-pain-must-be-embraced/) [Willa Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-gibbs/) > [I learnt that loneliness is not real; it only dwells in our lustful imagination. I learn that fear is not real; it only lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-uyi/i-learnt-that-loneliness-is-not-real-it-only-dwells-in-our-lustful/) [Angela Uyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-uyi/) > [“Once out of the mailroom, I began to learn more about fear. As soon as fear begins to ascend, anatomically, from the pit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/once-out-of-the-mailroom-i-began-to-learn-more-about-fear-as-soon-as/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“It was necessary, we felt, to thoroughly terrify our opponents, so that even in hollow victory, they would learn to fear every sunrise ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/it-was-necessary-we-felt-to-thoroughly-terrify-our-opponents-so-that/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [We can all reprogram our brain's responses by putting ourselves into new, initially uncomfortable situations. We'll learn fear might not mean 'stop'; I've come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/we-can-all-reprogram-our-brain-s-responses-by-putting-ourselves-into/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [“I am no longer afraid of fear, and I will not let it rule me. Fear will learn to fear me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-am-no-longer-afraid-of-fear-and-i-will-not-let-it-rule-me-fear-will/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“It will help when you learn them. Fear dims when you learn things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/it-will-help-when-you-learn-them-fear-dims-when-you-learn-things/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Stored in everyone's memory are past experiences of terror. By reminding you of those feelings, fear is trying to protect you from repeating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/stored-in-everyone-s-memory-are-past-experiences-of-terror-by/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [From one learn all. I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/from-one-learn-all-i-fear-the-greeks-even-when-they-bring-gifts/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [Everyone's frightened. It's how you deal with that fear. It's very, very powerful. And what you've got to do is get it as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/everyone-s-frightened-it-s-how-you-deal-with-that-fear-it-s-very-very/) [Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/) > [We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-are-to-learn-about-fear-not-how-to-escape-from-it/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Learn when to fear, and how to fear, and how much to fear, before you squander all you have left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-morris/learn-when-to-fear-and-how-to-fear-and-how-much-to-fear-before-you/) [Janet Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-morris/) > [The more you learn, the less you fear. "Learn" not in the sense of academic study, but in the practical understanding of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-more-you-learn-the-less-you-fear-learn-not-in-the-sense-of/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More by Isaac Marion > [“Our cadaverous cadre has been walking for little over a day...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/our-cadaverous-cadre-has-been-walking-for-little-over-a-day/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“These people, these beautiful Living women, they don't seem to make the connection between me and the creatures that keep killing everything they love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/these-people-these-beautiful-living-women-they-don-t-seem-to-make-the/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“Good people see past their own fucking lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/good-people-see-past-their-own-fucking-lives/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [My favorite songs change every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/my-favorite-songs-change-every-year/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“She looks at her wrist, those thin scars like an entry stamp for some horrible concert. 'All the shitty stuff people do to themselves...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/she-looks-at-her-wrist-those-thin-scars-like-an-entry-stamp-for-some/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“I guess I talk a lot of shit about Perry, but it's not like I'm such a shiny happy person either, you know? I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-guess-i-talk-a-lot-of-shit-about-perry-but-it-s-not-like-i-m-such-a/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I want to change my punctuation. I long for exclamation marks, but I'm drowning in ellipses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-want-to-change-my-punctuation-i-long-for-exclamation-marks-but-i-m/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I feel the flatline of my existence disrupting, forming heartbeat hills and valleys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-feel-the-flatline-of-my-existence-disrupting-forming-heartbeat/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [But it does make me sad that we've forgotten our names. Out of everything, this seems to me the most tragic. I miss my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/but-it-does-make-me-sad-that-we-ve-forgotten-our-names-out-of/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [It's not like I'm such a shiny happy person either, you know? I'm a wreck too, I'm just... still alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/it-s-not-like-i-m-such-a-shiny-happy-person-either-you-know-i-m-a/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“I run through the dark entry corridor toward the light on the other end, wondering if this is a birth canal or the tunnel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-run-through-the-dark-entry-corridor-toward-the-light-on-the-other/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“I want the pain of knowing them, and by extension myself: who and what I really am. Maybe with that scalpel, red-hot and sterilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-want-the-pain-of-knowing-them-and-by-extension-myself-who-and-what/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Just... ate," M says, frowning at me a little. "Two days...ago." I grab my stomach again. "Feel empty. Feel... dead." He nods. "Marr...iage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/just-ate-m-says-frowning-at-me-a-little-two-days-ago-i-grab-my/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [It’s sad to see them staring wistfully through the window when the door isn’t locked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/it-s-sad-to-see-them-staring-wistfully-through-the-window-when-the/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) [Explore all 273 Isaac Marion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) ## More Eye contact quotes > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [“Having to talk to people was the one thing, but soliciting conversation was something else. If I acted squirmy or didn't make eye contact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/having-to-talk-to-people-was-the-one-thing-but-soliciting/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [“After the news Kate had called him with last night, Grady found himself wishing there was more than coffee in his cup. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-ewens/after-the-news-kate-had-called-him-with-last-night-grady-found/) [Tracy Ewens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-ewens/) > [“There are exes with whom it is too dangerous to allow even a moment’s eye contact. These are not exes at all, and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wagner/there-are-exes-with-whom-it-is-too-dangerous-to-allow-even-a-moment-s/) [Josh Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-wagner/) > [Dogs seek attention from you. But by paying them that attention when they want it, you're reinforcing the bad or hyperactive or anxious behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/dogs-seek-attention-from-you-but-by-paying-them-that-attention-when/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Direct eye contact can either be really cute, awkward, or creepy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/direct-eye-contact-can-either-be-really-cute-awkward-or-creepy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His gaze kept sliding in my direction, then zipping back to Phil, as if he’d heard you should make eye contact with people you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-merrow/his-gaze-kept-sliding-in-my-direction-then-zipping-back-to-phil-as-if/) [J.L. Merrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-merrow/) > [“Eye Contact. Direct eye contact is one of the best compliments you can give to another. You are subliminally telling them that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/eye-contact-direct-eye-contact-is-one-of-the-best-compliments-you-can/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [You look out into the audience and you see so much joy on people's faces. You make eye contact with people who are almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-mcvie/you-look-out-into-the-audience-and-you-see-so-much-joy-on-people-s/) [Christine McVie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-mcvie/) > [If only I could meet someone new. I guess my chances of that happening are somewhat diminished, seeing that Im incapable of making eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel/if-only-i-could-meet-someone-new-i-guess-my-chances-of-that-happening/) [Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel/) > [Crowds are the most difficult thing for me these days because I have to walk with my head down and my eyes averted. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/crowds-are-the-most-difficult-thing-for-me-these-days-because-i-have/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [“The last thing I remembered was making eye contact with Emanuel in the rearview mirror before slipping out of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-allen/the-last-thing-i-remembered-was-making-eye-contact-with-emanuel-in/) [Danielle Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-allen/) > [“...he walks out the door making eye contact with me for only a second. It was at that moment that he lured me in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-loren/he-walks-out-the-door-making-eye-contact-with-me-for-only-a-second-it/) [Jennifer Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-loren/) [Browse all 469 Eye contact quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye-contact/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It feels like days since we've made eye contact. We avoid it like we expect to be injured. When did we learn to fear each other? 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