No Longer Hiding
If you visit the Netherlands, you might be surprised to find that some towns and neighborhoods participate in an unlikely decorating practice. A friend was walking through one of these towns and noticed that nearly every home had no window coverings, blinds or curtains. In fact, you could see right in.
Why?
Some tourists think it is because the Netherlands is a northern country and people like to enjoy the sun when it is out. Others think it is a cultural practice: neighbors want to show they are friendly and have nothing to hide. Then a local explained that many Dutch homes do not have curtains because of the Second World War. In those days, under the threat of air raids, families spent their evenings with closed curtains and dim lights. They were afraid that if the enemy saw light from their windows, they would be bombed. It was out of terror and war that every home had curtains.
However, after the war, neighbors agreed they would never live that way again. They not only opened their windows, but got rid of their curtains altogether. Today the tradition lives on. They want to live openly, freely, and be reminded every day that they survived and thrive — no longer forced to live fearfully in darkness and closed off from each other.
There is an interesting result from all of this. Local people say that after years of living without curtains, they actually feel less like people are peeking in on them and more like they are invited to watch the world go by around them. They feel confident, more connected, safe, and enjoy the happenings of their own communities. They like, and trust, each other.
How often are we afraid that if we open our lives, people will not like what they see? We often live in fear that others will peek in on us and judge us. So we close off our lives, live separately and sometimes fearfully. The result is disconnected isolation. However, when we live openly with others and believe another story, that we can be confident in who we are, that we were made to connect, and that we are safe to share our lives, then we begin to live anew. We do not live with fear that people will see us, but with expectancy that we will be able to see goodness in others.
Like the Dutch, we can say that we no longer live as though life is full of imminent dangers, with terror ready to strike any minute. But rather, we can live open-handedly, generously and freely with others in spite of dangers. Living freely takes courage and a stronger sense of hope for the life we would rather live. Fear is a liar that says we must cover and hide; faith and hope say that we are safe, welcome and free.
May you discover that your neighbors are worth knowing, and opening your life to others a risk worth taking. May you know that whether you have curtains or not, you are worth knowing, worth loving and worth enjoying. We are better together, and allowing ourselves the freedom to live openly with each other is the greatest gift we can give.
Top photo of Amsterdam by Daniil Vnoutchkov.
Dr. Preston Pouteaux is a beekeeper, neighbourhood enthusiast and pastor at Lake Ridge Community Church. He is an engaging speaker, writer, and curator of conversations about faith and neighbourhoods. He studied at Covenant Bible College, Briercrest College, Regent College, Tyndale Seminary, and Jerusalem University College in Israel. He is the author of Imago Dei to Missio Dei [VantagePoint3] and the award-winning author of The Bees of Rainbow Falls: Finding Faith, Imagination, and Delight in Your Neighbourhood [Urban Loft Publishers]. Since 2015 his column, Into the Neighbourhood, has been printed over two millions times in weekly newspapers. Preston lives in Chestermere, Alberta, with his wife Kelly, their daughters Scotia and Ivy, and a few thousand honeybees. You can connect with Preston on Twitter and on his website.