All God's Children Got Spots

I am a window cleaner. I didn't start out to be one but that's where my journey has lead me thus far. I never thought I'd be a window cleaner but I've learned that it doesn't really matter what you do, it matters who you become. But that's for another post.

My blog is called "Spots on the Glass" and my idea in starting this adventure is to engage in conversation about life through the metaphor of a window. Every window has spots, be they dirt or imperfections in the glass itself. Before I started my window cleaning business I never paid that much attention to windows. Now I see windows in a totally different way. I notice if they're clean or dirty; whether they have scratches, fingerprints, calcium deposits or even cracks and holes.

People are a lot like windows. Like windows, they come in all shapes and sizes. Also like windows, some are very clear and easy to see through. We say a person like that is very transparent. You never have to guess about intentions, motives or hidden agendas. Other windows are opaque or tinted and difficult or impossible to see through. We tend to be wary and suspicious of people who are like that. And still other windows are somewhere in between. Hopefully you get the idea.

The one thing that all windows and all people have in common is that they all have spots or imperfections. Some spots on a window are easily removed with a wet scrubber and squeegee. Others require scrubbing or chemicals and some are permanent in the glass and no amount of "cleaning" will ever remove them.

I invite you to join the conversation about spots on the window, either your own or just what you've observed. How do you try to clean your spots? What have you noticed about others that they may have not noticed themselves? As a window cleaner, I've cleaned windows for businesses whose windows have not been cleaned for a long time and invariably the owner is amazed (and delighted) at how clean the windows have become when I'm finished. He or she had gotten so used to dirty windows that they no longer see the dirt but accept the view through their windows as normal or clean. What things have we come to accept as normal and no longer see as dirty until someone comes along to "clean our window"?

One more thing. No judgments here. This is not a blog for pointing out what's wrong with everyone else. We all have spots. Let's celebrate our common journey and enlighten each other along the way.