I do not know who did the lovely artwork which accompanied this email that arrived in my inbox on January 20, 2011.  Nor do I know the author of the text.  A Google search did not reveal much except what a broad application this quote has.  There were numerous sites upon which it appeared.  I have included it in mine because of how simple and timeless the message  is.  I have often explained to seekers that when others criticize or judge you, it actually says more about them than it does about you.  This is something we would all do well to remember when we start to get onto our high horses. 

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.
The next morning at breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging laundry.
"Those clothes are not very clean," she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.  Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor hung her wash to dry,
The young woman made the same comments.

About a month later, the woman was surprised to see a
nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.  I wonder who taught her."

The husband said,
"I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."
 
And so it is with life.
What we see when watching others
depends on the purity of the window through which we look.