Window Series (2018 / 2020)

The Importance of Staring Out of the Window. 

We tend to reproach ourselves for staring out of the window. Most of the time, we are supposed to be working, or studying, or ticking things off a to-do list. It can seem almost the definition of wasted time. It appears to produce nothing, to serve no purpose. We equate it with boredom, distraction, futility. The act of cupping our chin in our hands near a pane of glass and letting our eyes drift in the middle distance does not enjoy high prestige. We don't go around saying, "I had a great day today. The high point was staring out of the window." But maybe, in a better society, this is exactly what people would quietly say to one another.  

The point of staring out of a window is, paradoxically, not to find out what is going on outside. It is rather, an exercise in discovering the contents of our own minds. It is easy to imagine we know what we think, what we feel and what's going on in our heads. But we rarely do entirely. There's a huge amount of what makes us who we that circulates unexplored and unused. Its potential lies untapped. It is shy and doesn't emerge the pressure of direct questioning. If we do it right, staring out of the window offers a way for us to be alert to the quieter suggestions and perspectives of our deeper selves.

Alain de Botton - THE SCHOOL OF LIFE  - pages 120 / 121