” PLEASE PULL OVER!” I excitedly asked the driver, my confused friend, when I saw these structures. Some people see broken down, decrepit buildings. Condemned. A future contribution to the rubbish heaps nearby, while big equipment sat quietly for the afternoon. Oh, but look closer. My heart delights to see the other view. I am no Pollyanna, but I have developed a certain perspective in life. Look closer, there is always more to see.
Poet Wislawa Szymborska is quoted as saying “The window had other views.”
People worked here, spent irreplaceable hours of their lives inside these walls. Who were they? What went on in their lives as they stared out these windows? What unfolded in their world, perhaps unnoticed by peers, as they climbed these stairs. Were they leaving something behind? Entering into a new beginning?
Once sturdy and efficient, now hollow and empty. Physically empty perhaps but listen to the story whistle through the corridors. Imagine the view from these windows, or the view looking inside. There is always more than we initially notice. Reminds me of people. We can hurry past seeing only the broken, the condemned. If we look closer, their eyes reveal so much more.
I found it fascinating to look through a window to see the sky, while the entire horizon peeks over back at me. The view seems pretty good from here…
