When our family is gathered at the supper table, we like talking about interesting topics that would make our kids think and develop their curiosity and reasoning. Yesterday, Bobes, my husband, asked our girls what they think about why some animals have eyes at the front of the skull and some at the sides. The kids knew. Carnivores have them at the front and the herbivores at the sides, so they see predators coming when they graze peacefully on the savannah.

A parallel association came to my mind immediately. I don’t like dividing people into predators and prey, even though sometimes it seems we live at the expense of others, other times we like manipulating those around us and making victims of ourselves.

I want to be neither a predator nor prey. I don’t want to keep looking sideways, being afraid of some unknown danger, or getting distracted by unimportant things. I want to have my eyes fixed ahead so that I see the opportunities to learn and contribute. I want to have my eyes fixed on my targets and dreams, picking them well. The older I get, the more I understand that the most meaningful target is relationships. Very few things are more precious than people around me who freely chose to offer a part of themselves to me.

When I asked my youngest daughter, what she thinks why humans have the eyes at the front of the skull, Olivia replied:

“So that we can see well those we love.”