Looking Out

There are times when I will notice something out of place on someone else and it will bother me.

A speck of food that didn't get wiped away from the corner of the mouth, or a smudge on a blouse, or a blob of mascara hanging on the edge of an eyelash will capture my attention and keep me from concentrating on the conversation.

I might try to ignore the distraction, but I find I can't and soon I become obsessed with the need to correct it.

Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is 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 neighbor's eye. - Matthew 7:4-5

We have all heard this one, I'm sure.  Jesus is warning his followers about judging others, but what is he telling us about ourselves?

It seems we cannot help ourselves.  We judge.  It is part of our nature because we cannot see ourselves as well as we see others.

I am reminded of a line from the Beatles song "Fool on the Hill."  "The eyes in his head see the world spinning round."

Our perspective is from the inside out.  We experience the world as observers, selecting our reality from a diverse and sometimes disconnected series of images and sounds coming at us indifferently, unpretentiously, waiting for us to make sense of them.

Without our interpretation of what we encounter, it has no meaning and makes no sense.  We have no choice but to judge all that we see, to test it and digest it.

So, to tell us to see the fault in ourselves before noticing the flaws in others is unnatural.  We are receivers and interpreters of what we receive.  Without a mirror or reflecting pool, we lack self-awareness.  It is work to see ourselves as others do.

Jesus knows that, and yet he calls us hypocrites for not doing just that.

I believe we need each other to help us be real and true to ourselves.  I can only know myself if I am open to hear and see what I send into the world the way you do.  And you need me to be the reflection of you as well.

So, to remove the log from my eye before I seek to help you remove your speck, I need your help.

It makes sense.  We are not alone.  And if I ask you to help me see what I cannot see, then we are working together, without judgment, but with mutual respect.

If we are climbing this mountain together, we need to be honest with each other, or we will both perish.  So, help me to see me the way you see me, and I will do the same for you.

That way, we will be seeing each other more clearly.

More to come...