This is a reminder to clean your windows, literally and metaphorically.
To clean your windows, your glasses, your camera lenses, the screen on your computer, and your phone.
It is nearly unbelievable to me how much grime accumulates over time.
But even more than that, it bowls me over how easily we get used to the grime. It happens slowly, the buildup, little by little. And as we keep looking through windows and glasses, and staring at screens that are developing a film, we begin to believe that this is how the world looks. A little bit dusty and a little bit dull.
I remember the first time we had the windows washed in our old house, the one we lived in for 20 something years. There was a window above the kitchen sink, one I looked out for what felt like hours everyday, washing dishes and hands, cooking food, keeping an eye on the kids playing in the yard. That first time the window washer came, I was gobsmacked. I had no idea the window was dirty, or that my view was obscured - until he left and I went back into the kitchen to wash my hands and WOW. The sharp colors and crisp lines were there all along, I simply couldn’t see.
Which is why this is a metaphorical reminder, too. The world can cloud our vision. The noise, the constant flood of input, the headlines and the challenges we face can similarly make the world seem a little bit dusty and a little bit dull. Unless and until we remember to clean our metaphorical windows and lenses too.
To shake off the fog of autopilot and habitual thinking, the veil of anxiety and cynicism, the cloak of overwhelm - and pay attention to the wonders that surround us each day. The sunrises and the sunsets, the clouds and the trees and the fresh air we breathe. The bodily systems that function, and our opposable thumbs. All of that and so much more.
If only there was a microfiber cloth for this purpose, and a little spray bottle, too.
But there’s not.
Which is precisely why we practice.
Friday:
Last night at sunset, Dave noticed a sliver of bright orange sky breaking through the clouds, and he pointed it out to me.
The generosity of friends hosting us for these few days.
A magnificent farm stand with abundant and beautiful produce and flowers, arranged in the most pleasing fashion. A feast for the senses.
Now you? Tell me 3 good things?
Xo.
