There are many of course.
Today I considered something very new to myself and my wife.
Living as missionary/musician peeps, serving in Milwaukee, for a time in Gainesville, Florida, then based for most of our years here in Chicago we live simply in one room. A room next to ours opened up and as there were no other needs the kind folks we interact with in community gave us the green light to use it also -so for the first time in 51 years we have two rooms next to each other (as well as my office/music space/storage room kitty-corner) for our living and working places.
The new one is truly sweet, needs a little work and then we'll be able to occupy it. This morning one of it's features got me to thinking...
I LOVE all 3 windows. Though my pic doesn't do them justice as they're far more pretty than you can see here, they let lots of light in but also provide full privacy for those who might otherwise see inside the room. My wife will decide on curtains and such, but no matter, a ton of natural light comes in due to the type and design of glass in these. Here is a close-up of most of the bottom portion of one of them, daytime, overcast day, no lights on, no flash re. the shot:
I'm convinced we all need privacy - and community.
Some cultures (in Europe for example) had a mostly religious view to use lace curtains and those often were never closed, at least on the ground floor of a home. The idea was that if someone cannot see what's going on inside it likely shouldn't have been going on in the first place.
That's a bit over the top to me but of course voyeurism isn't some sort of Christ-following virtue either.
Private thoughts as well as actions are sometimes best kept private. When repentance for them is called for in God's Word, repenting is necessary!
Another aspect of my window analogy here is that we need to see outside -outside and beyond ourselves. We learn so very much from others and a right, healthy observation of what people do and how they live is so instructive, educational and much both good and bad is important for us to see and learn from.
Most windows are of course two-way and thus curtains, much like these new-to-us windows offer privacy, a mental/emotional "quiet" where we can meditate and really consider things.
I posit that if continual hiding and distancing ourselves from others becomes habitual it's a sign we're not healthy. Though "none of your business" is often quite accurate and correct to think and live out, "none" as in "never" is something I strongly disagree with. There is plenty of Scripture that speaks directly to that. No communing, no community.
Again, there are great and right times to separate ourselves and indeed, from falling into the trap when we come out of our "caves" if living as actors who merely role-play for the acceptance and/or affirmation and applause of others.
For myself, I've always loved the woods. Alone and quiet with God in my thoughts and the natural world in view is one of the best, healthy tonics I've been blessed to enjoy throughout my life.
In conclusion, there are times it's essential we risk the normal "see-in-see-out" windows of our soul. Balance. Such gives us boots-on-ground life in a world often seeking only selfish aims rather than really considering others as well as recognizing when God speaks to us both in our private times as well as through others.
As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn
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