Seen Through a Window
What we think is perception is actually perspective. Each of us is a unique opening lighting up a unique world and establishing a unique set of relationships with that world — relationships that bestow our lives with distinctive character. This point is well, but lightly made in a story told by the late Indian Jesuit, Anthony de Mello:
A woman stepped out of her shower stark naked and was about to reach for her towel when she saw, to her horror, that there was a man on a scaffolding washing her window and eyeing her appreciatively.
So shocked was she by the unexpected apparition that she stood transfixed to the floor, gaping at the man.
“What’s the matter, lady?” the fellow called cheerfully through the now spotless glass. “Haven’t you ever seen a window cleaner before?”
