Caring for your eyes should be a normal part of your lifestyle for long term health benefits. This organ of vision plays a very important role in our life.

Eye contact is the most important nonverbal communication cue, conveying our thoughts and desires so dramatically.

And there’s no age bar, babies look at a face three times as long as that person is returning the favor. A reciprocal gaze implies mutual adoration. Our eyes are clever little messengers.

Here are some ways by which you can make the eyes the window to your soul:

1. Observation of someone’s eyes in an artistic way: Art museums are a great place to try and see the world through the eyes of an artist, because that’s the place where artists have portrayed what they have seen through their eyes.

2. Try to draw your thoughts when you see an odd or irregular object. Draw it in your mind with your soul or on a paper if you believe your ideas will not vanish.

3. Imagination takes you around the world. Just imagine for a day you are not what you are. Think of yourself as an angel who has come to help and love everyone, this way you will be able to have a deeper connection with humanity.

4. Think of things that have multiple uses. No object has only one use, no word can only mean one thing.

5. Try to see and believe in new things. Artists do new things all the time, the unconventional, the not so cool, the odd, the eclectic ... but they always justify their creativity with a ‘third eye’ beneath the soul.

Did you know that even animals rely on their eyes for sensing their environment? For example, a butterfly picking out its brightly colored mate or a hawk eyeing a field mouse.

Eyes need to be pampered physically as well.

1. Go organic: Try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Carrots, loaded with beta carotene are especially helpful in maintaining healthy eyes. That’s because beta carotene is an antioxidant that reduces the risk of macular degeneration.

2. Avoid wearing contact lenses or glasses for a very long time. This will lead to discomfort of eyes. Never sleep with them as your eyes need regular supply of oxygen.

3. To avoid puffiness, use cucumber before going to sleep. Cucumbers contain ascorbic acid and caffeic acid which prevent water retention. Tea bags are helpful too.

4. Good quality sunglasses are needed to protect eyes from damage, as the UV rays are not eye-friendly. Prolonged exposure to UV rays can harm your eyesight; protection in youth can help prevent loss of eyesight in later years.

5. Avoid computer use for long hours. While science has not yet proven that looking at computer screens can cause permanent eye damage, it certainly causes eye strain and dry eyes. The glare from computer screens causes muscle fatigue in the eyes, either from being too bright or too dark.