Clean your window

Here's a very penetrating little story as told by Anthony de Mello in The Heart of the Enlightened:

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. It is almost a disgrace to be living in the same neighborhood as her. 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."

Ah. We tend to judge others by ourselves, don't we? Meditation is the way to clean our own window so that we see clearly.