Navigating Courage: Eyes Wide Open

Dr. Robin Martin

I worshipped my brilliant, funny, and charismatic brother Robert for many reasons, but one talent always stood out: his ability to sleep with his eyes open.

Every Sunday, as church services got underway, he would slowly drift off—his eyes wide open—evading both the sermon and the ever-watchful eye of our mother. For years, he got away with it. Until one Sunday, a sudden snore exposed the truth, and my mother finally realized what he’d been doing all along.

Robert’s eyes were unforgettable. Like many brown boys, his gaze was magnetic—large, light brown eyes set in a sea of white. He was teased for their size, but one look into those sun portals and your life could be forever changed. He could do anything with those eyes—except see color. My brother was colorblind, which made getting dressed an unpredictable adventure. Still, I loved him fiercely.

And now, I realize that his ability to sleep with his eyes open was more than a quirky trick—it was a metaphor.

Unlike Robert, I never learned how to sleep through life. I see everything. I always have. As a child, I was the curious one in the back of the room—the one who could quietly sense the truth beneath the surface, catch the unspoken, ask the uncomfortable questions. But no one told me that was a gift.

Imagine a sassy little Black girl with the ability to see what others avoid—and the courage to say it out loud. That was me. But the world doesn’t always welcome girls like that. In fact, we are often taught to shrink, to doubt what we know, to trust systems that have never protected us. My ability to see—truly see—is often unsettling to others, and even to myself.

That said, as an adult, I’ve come to understand just how powerful this gift is. In meetings, conversations, and moments of stillness, I can sense what’s coming before it arrives. I can see the quiet conflicts, the unresolved questions, the truth that sits behind carefully chosen words. And I can see pathways forward, even when the way seems unclear to everyone else.

"Eyes Wide Open" is more than a metaphor. It’s a way of being.

It’s about seeing through deception and having the courage to confront it. It’s about recognizing the full spectrum of humanity—the pain, the joy, the empathy, the passion, and yes, the rage. It’s about refusing to pretend everything is okay when it’s not.

This world makes it easy to pretend. To sleep with our eyes open. To look alert while we slumber through injustice. But when you start raging—when your soul refuses to numb itself—your senses heighten. You can no longer pretend not to see.

So, what does this have to do with Navigating Courage?

• Because the first step in Navigating Courage is Seeing.

• Seeing yourself—fully and without filters.Seeing others—not as threats or competitors, but as fellow humans.

• Seeing how systems are connected and how we are connected to them.Seeing the possibilities for change, even in the face of overwhelming complexity and chaos.

• Seeing truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.And most importantly, seeing a path forward—and walking it.

The art of Seeing—of keeping our eyes wide open—is at the heart of Navigating Courage.

It takes courage to witness genocide, poverty, homelessness, and racism—and not turn away.

It takes courage to resist the gaslighting that tells you what you see isn’t real.It takes courage to name how we benefit from, participate in, or quietly uphold systems of injustice. It takes courage to stop pretending to be asleep. #staywoke

But it also takes courage to believe in something better. To imagine differently and to Act.