Photo Friday / 6.27.2025

Thoughts on the Home

Jun 27, 2025

The “Third Space” is a bit of an odd concept to me. Not that I think it's strange that we should all wish for places outside our homes that are safe and comfortable — that seems only natural — but that our default “safe space” should ever be anything other than our homes. It seems that for many people the place where they live simply isn't their favourite place to spend time, and so life is lived outside the home more than in it. We go out to eat, go out for coffee, go out to the theatre, go out for ice cream. (I definitely do that last one.) I don't think these things are wrong, but I certainly don't want them to be my default.

I want my home to be my favourite place. A place filled with light of sun and joy of laughter, comfortable seating, and tasty smells; a place of quiet and peace, where all who gather are safe to be as they are, and leave even better; a place filled with memories of good food and drink, conversation and friendship; a place where people are invited in, where they stay late because they don't want to leave. What a joy, to have a home where such is true, where beauty, truth and goodness are ever present, and where love abounds.

This is what I want of my home, my First Space.

Inspired by
Peco
and
Ruth Gaskovski
’s commitment to showing the humanness of their own Substack pieces, I’m showing you here a picture of my own writing, done by hand in my catch-all notebook. This is where (and how) I record my thoughts, journal, write down quotes I want to remember, recommendations from friends, and most recently where I begin each Photo Friday post, as well as the other things that end up here on Substack. After writing it down with pen and ink, I usually dictate it into a note taking app on my computer, or type it out while staring at the page. In either case, never do I relegate editing or proof-reading to a machine or AI. Each piece I write is read through carefully and edited by me before I decide it’s ready for posting.

If you appreciate the effort I put into creating these reflections, and if you enjoy reading them, please subscribe. It means a lot to me that you read what I write.

Peyton Beard

Thanks for sharing a snapshot of your process, Joel. It means a lot to see the embodied work of your hands.

I'm a homebody by habit, and I've always been perplexed by many peoples' tendency to keep even their friends out of their home (e.g. only meeting at restaurants or coffee shops & only "doing things" with others as a public activity). I think it speaks to the consumer driven assumptions of our society. And since we don't know what to do with ourselves when we're alone, we don't know what we would do with others when they are where we are forced to be alone. The home becomes a place to either avoid until it's time to sleep, or a place to fill up the corners with all the consumer experiences necessary to keep out our inner silence.

For me home is always the "safe space" refuge from the noise, but also ground zero for practicing hospitality with friends and family. May your home be a joyful refuge for you and all your loved ones.

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John Stambaugh

I like to hear your thoughts, and it's fun to see the physical written form of them, too.

Considering Lilies

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