Food for thought in forums

[Not Insane]

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the washing outside. "That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, remaining silent.

Every time her neighbor hung her washing out to dry, the young woman made the same comments.

A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, "Look, she’s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?" The husband replied, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life… What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look. So don’t be too quick to judge others, especially if your perspective of life is clouded by anger, jealousy, negativity or unfulfilled desires.

"Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are."
— Jonathan Kestenbaum

[nailer]

His closing observation strikes me as being a bit judgemental.

[donquixote99]

Some judgements are due to dirty windows. On the other hand, some laundry is dirty.

[Dondilion]

Try for clean windows, but there will be dirty laundry.

[nailer]

Unless we're allowed back in the Garden, we're stuck with having dirty laundry to wash.

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by nailer

His closing observation strikes me as being a bit judgemental.

Yep. But it is not judging a person. It is judging an activity.

There really are activities that are wrong, no matter who does them. It's where some people apply the concept of Karma.

It's also why Christians are told not to judge others, but definitely are taught what is right, and what is wrong activity.

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Some judgements are due to dirty windows. On the other hand, some laundry is dirty.

That is a foregone conclusion.

But the point is that sometimes people miss the former as even a possibility. They look through a dirty window and all they see is dirty laundry.

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by nailer

Unless we're allowed back in the Garden, we're stuck with having dirty laundry to wash.

True. But it's not about the laundry. It is about the woman's perception of it.

And the garden is gone, but a new one is on the way. Some will be welcome in to give it another shot, and some won't.

To break down the story, the point is that if you are seeing dirty laundry, before acting on it, make sure your window is clean - to prevent yourself from looking like a fool.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by Not Insane

Yep. But it is not judging a person. It is judging an activity.

There really are activities that are wrong, no matter who does them. It's where some people apply the concept of Karma.

It's also why Christians are told not to judge others, but definitely are taught what is right, and what is wrong activity.

Without the person there is no activity and actions speak louder than words.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by Not Insane

True. But it's not about the laundry. It is about the woman's perception of it.

And the garden is gone, but a new one is on the way. Some will be welcome in to give it another shot, and some won't.

To break down the story, the point is that if you are seeing dirty laundry, before acting on it, make sure your window is clean - to prevent yourself from looking like a fool.

The point of this story is its conclusion which I've addressed above. The story itself is about a young woman who doesn't know what a dirty window looks like.