Closing a window

Do you have any irrational fears? Now I’m not talking about things like the fear of spiders. Nope, totally feel for those who see one of those suckers and run screaming for the door. No, I’m talking about being afraid of something and there just seems to be no reason for it. Now, I have this friend whose house is always shut up tight. I was there the other evening and mentioned that maybe a window or two should be opened to let the nice, cool fall breeze in. He looked at me like I was purple and had just sprouted horns and wings. Then he proceeded to go on a tirade about how if he opens a window even a crack, someone will climb in said window and rob him blind. Uhm, okay. If I’m a thief and I see an open window I’m going to think someone’s home. However, my friend wasn’t finished with his rant. He continued for I don’t know how long about how unsafe the world is as a whole and how nighttime is the worse time to open a window. Whoa, trust me, at his house, it’s never nighttime. He’s house is lit up like a Christmas tree with at least 50 large outdoor lights on every wall, I think you can see his house from space. But even if you can’t, it's impossible to get within a mile of the place without being put in the spotlight so to speak. Trust me, no one is sneaking up to his house and no one in their right mind is ever going to try to steal anything from that house, open window or not. Fine, being the curious person I am, I decide to poke the bear and figure out what in world has brought this man to this point. After all, let’s face it, you don’t build a castle and defend it to the death for no reason – right? So I ask him how many times his house has been broken into. He again gives me a look like I’m some kind of creature from another planet. Never. And he was very clear on this point. He said it so many times and in so many different ways to make sure I understood. Alrighty then, message received. At that moment, I knew I was defeated, I wasn’t going to be able to figure out why he was afraid to do something so simple as open a window. And I got to thinking – is this fear good or bad? Yes, his house is safe, but is it comfortable? Life always is a string of compromises, walking a line and finding what's the best balance for us. For me, his fear is irrational. For him, maybe it’s normal. And who am I to judge what is best for someone else?