Mid-day meditation: The streaks are on your window!

A woman complained to a visiting friend that her neighbor was a poor housekeeper.

"You should see how dirty her children are.  And her house. Take a look at those clothes she has hung out on the line. See the black streaks on the sheets and towels!"

The friend walked up to the window and said, "I think the clothes are quite clean, my dear. The streaks are on your window!"

--Anthony de Mello

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults--unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge of your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt?...Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."

--Eugene Peterson, The Message (paraphrase of Matthew 7:1-5)

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

--Matthew 7:1-5, Revised Standard Version

"We must not rely too much upon ourselves, for grace and understanding are often lacking in us. We have but little inborn light, and this we quickly lose through negligence. Often we are not aware that we are so blind in heart. Meanwhile we do wrong, and then do worse in excusing it. We take others to task for small mistakes, and overlook greater ones in ourselves. We are quick enough to feel and brood over the things we suffer from others, but we think nothing of how much others suffer from us. If a man would weigh his own deeds fully and rightly, he would find little cause to pass severe judgment on others.

You will never be devout of heart unless you are thus silent about the affairs of others and pay particular attention to yourself. If you attend wholly to God and yourself, you will be little disturbed by what you see about you."

--Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

For more information:

There's a really cool website called A Holy Experience here.