Window by Barry Hughes

Obviously, one of the things I enjoy the most about walking my neighborhood is that I never know what I might find along the way. I have taken pictures of all kinds of random objects and interesting scenes, and each block of sidewalk is full of possibilities. On this day, an old discarded wooden window captured my attention. 

I first wondered from whence it came. It did not match the windows of the house in front of which it lay, and appeared that it never had. Then there was the matter of the color. And the fact that two-thirds of the lights were missing. How did it get here? What purpose had it been serving, being in such disrepair? I was surprised at how intrigued I was by this lonely, discarded window. I suppose I am simply driven to know the story behind the things I see and the people I meet.

Anthony T. Hincks wrote, “Outside the window is a world that beckons and inside the window is a world for which the outside yearns.” I wonder about the worlds this old window has seen. I wonder who might have sat with elbows on the sill and looked out, dreaming of 

exciting adventures beyond their experience. Or who, as a sick child, watched through these panes with a heavy heart as friends rushed about in play. I imagined others who spent hours by this old windows side, reading by its light or watching a gentle rain or, perhaps, just thinking of someone they loved and missed.

In this window’s days of glory, who may have walked past and caught a glimpse of the home they dreamed of, or the family they longed to have? We will never know.

Like the old window, everyone has a story. And until we know that story about another, it is easy to make quick judgements. People, like the window, are always more than they appear to be in any given moment. We all have a story that has made us who we are. We all have had dreams that came true and dreams that have gone unfulfilled. We all come to this moment by our own unique path. There is always time to listen, really listen, to another’s story.

Peace.

By Barry Hughes