Hello!

I am sooo excited that the old dirty windows in my studio are being replaced in a couple days! I can't wait to open the new windows, breathe in the fresh crisp air and enjoy a clear view of the beautiful waterfront without looking at broken screens and condensation.

Thinking of this got me pondering window and life analogies and symbolisms. Windows represent hope, new opportunities, alternative paths, the unknown and illumination of darkness....There's also an analogy of dirty windows that teaches us about perspective.

I'll share a little story with you.

A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.

“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”

John looked on but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.

A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.”

John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!”

Do we sometimes look through dirty windows in our house or car that need cleaning? Or do our eye glasses need cleaning? Do we make judgements about people, situations, issues or relationships without knowing all the facts? Do we have narrow views? What if we were to consider that other people's views may not be wrong, but just different than our own?

Doesn't it feel great when we clean our windows and glasses? Everything seems fresh and new! What would happen if we cleaned our thoughts and opened up our eyes and minds to look at the world differently? To see things without judging it to be good or bad, right or wrong?

It takes some effort, but I'll be cleaning my windows, both literally and figuratively this week! I invite you to do the same.

Be Well.

Josie Knowles

RN, RNP, RYT-200, HTP-A

www.josieknowles.com

"What we see in others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look."

- Author Unknown